Before she could finish speaking, Lucas Bennett snatched it away and swallowed it in one gulp, barely chewing.

Queen Thompson quickly poured a cup of tea and said, “Eat slowly, I’m not going to fight you for it.”

While drinking water, Lucas Bennett mumbled, “Sister-in-law, why don’t you let me have Henry too…”

Queen Thompson didn’t catch that, and looked at him, saying, “Eat slowly, finish eating before you talk.”

But Henry, standing to the side, straightened her pretty face and glared at Lucas Bennett, saying, “I’m not going to Jinghuan Palace, I want to serve our Lady.”

Queen Thompson also realized what was going on, and smiled slightly, saying, “You can have anything else, but don’t even think about Henry.”

Lucas Bennett swallowed his food, smacked his lips, and said regretfully, “Why is it that all the good things belong to my sister-in-law?”

Queen Thompson couldn’t help but laugh, and said with mock annoyance, “You little rascal, you used to covet the valuables in my palace, and now you’re even eyeing my people.”

Lucas Bennett looked a bit embarrassed, and said to Queen Thompson, “Sister-in-law, how about just lending her to me for a few days?”

“All right, hurry up and eat.” Queen Thompson didn’t give him a chance to keep pestering, and said, “After you finish, go back and wait. The Emperor isn’t awake yet, I need to go check on him.”

Lucas Bennett rolled his eyes and said, “Okay.”

Henry shoved the freshly made pastries at him in annoyance, and Lucas Bennett, as usual, ate some and took some, bringing nearly half the pastries back to Jinghuan Palace.

“Try some, they’re made by Sister Henry.” Lucas Bennett handed the box to William Carter.

William Carter’s face lit up with joy, and he said, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Lucas Bennett lounged in a chair, sipping tea, and said lazily, “My royal brother spent all day yesterday with my sister-in-law, so he probably hasn’t seen Jason Turner’s memorial yet. The Directorate of Ceremonial… George Washington should more or less know by now. Tell Little Carter to keep an eye out—if my royal brother goes to the Imperial Study, report to me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” William Carter, big and burly, ate messily. After wiping his mouth, he looked at Lucas Bennett and asked in confusion, “Your Highness, is this really that important? I’ve never seen you so serious before.”

Lucas Bennett smiled slightly and didn’t explain further. He studied archaeology, not much history, but he remembered very clearly that once his professor, standing by the Ming Tang King’s tomb, told them, “George Washington truly believed he could defeat the powerful and unmatched Qingliu faction, and it all started with how he handled Jason Turner.”

That sentence left a deep impression on him, so he absolutely could not let George Washington feel that he could overcome the entire Qingliu faction. Otherwise, knowing the Tianqi Emperor’s temperament as he did, and with Madam Ke’s support, no one would be able to restrain him in the future.

“I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when it’s time.” Lucas Bennett had gone out early to gather information, and now, full and satisfied, he was sleepy.

“Yes, Your Highness.” William Carter quickly agreed and left with the box.

Lucas Bennett slept until noon. Still drowsy, he stood at the door, looked at the blazing midday sun, and listened to Charles Carter’s explanation. He looked at Charles Carter beside him with a strange expression and said, “What’s going on? Say that again!”

Charles Carter looked a bit embarrassed too, and said, “The few people in the Directorate of Ceremonial, like Eunuch Wei, are all illiterate. For the censors’ memorials, Eunuch Wei has ordered that they must personally review them before they’re sent to the Emperor. Today, Simon Lewis happened to be off duty, and no one else can approve them. Eunuch Wei hasn’t returned yet, so Censor Turner’s memorial has been stuck in the Directorate of Ceremonial all this time.”

Lucas Bennett looked up at the sky with emotion. Since the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the Directorate of Ceremonial had set up schools specifically to teach eunuchs to read and write, but George Washington and his close associates all came from humble backgrounds and were completely illiterate. Without the Directorate eunuchs’ approval, not even memorials from the Grand Secretariat could reach the Emperor.

That was the current predicament.

But the Directorate of Ceremonial was known as the “Little Grand Secretariat,” and the eunuchs in charge of the Directorate’s documents were called “Inner Ministers”—sometimes their power was even more terrifying than the Grand Secretary. So whether it was the once-glorious Zhang Juzheng, or previous Grand Secretaries like Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Gao Gong, if they wanted to get anything done, the first thing was to win over the Directorate’s chief eunuch.

And most importantly, the chief eunuch of the Directorate often also served as the head of the Eastern Depot!

Why was George Washington able to overpower the Six Ministries and make the Grand Secretaries bow to his will? Because both the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were under his control. Anyone who defied him could be sent to the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s prison on any pretext, and whether guilty or not, once inside, it was a death sentence!

George Washington had only been in power for four short years, but the damage he did to the system was unmatched in the entire Ming dynasty. He became the most notorious power-hungry eunuch in Ming history!

Later, when Chongzhen abolished the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, it was directly because of him!

Though Lucas Bennett was full of emotion, his mind quickly started working. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he muttered to himself, “Fine, then I’ll give you a little trouble in advance.”

“Let’s go, to the Imperial Study,” Lucas Bennett said.

“Prince Hui, you’ve come at just the right time—the Emperor is angry.” As soon as Lucas Bennett walked in, a eunuch hurried over and whispered.

Lucas Bennett was taken aback. “Who made my royal brother angry?”

The eunuch glanced at the doors of the Imperial Study and whispered, “The Emperor is studying the works of the sages, but there are many parts he can’t understand. He’s been pondering over them, and just now, when a censor asked for an audience, the Emperor scolded him and sent him away.”

A censor? Could it be that Jason Turner couldn’t wait any longer and came to press for an answer?

Chapter 9 Eye Drops

Lucas Bennett straightened his clothes, waved his hand, and said, “You all wait here. I’ll go have a chat with my royal brother.”