Every day, the amount of grain, vegetables, meat, cloth, firewood, coal, and so on required is astronomical. Once the city gates are closed, all the merchants from various places and the peddlers from nearby villages are trapped inside the city and can’t get out.

Everyone is full of complaints and at a loss for what to do.

Clark was even more anxious. She had brought her grandson to visit relatives, but now they couldn’t even return home. What should they do? It seemed they wouldn’t be able to leave today. They had to find a place to stay for the night.

The old lady could only take Edward Clark to look for an inn. She asked at one after another, but as soon as the price was mentioned, she was so shocked that she stared in disbelief. Truly, this was the capital—how could they afford to stay anywhere!

Just as the old lady was at a loss, Edward Clark suddenly spoke up.

“Grandma, why don’t we go to The Harris Residence?”

The old lady was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned her head and stared at Edward Clark, sternly warning, “Eddie, we may be poor, but we mustn’t lose our dignity. After the way the The Harris Family treated us, are we going to offer up our faces to be slapped again?” The old lady was angry, but she also knew that just being angry was useless. After hesitating for a while, she reached up and took a gold hairpin from her head, holding it in her hand with a sigh.

“This was left to me by your grandfather. We’ll pawn it, find a good inn to stay for the night, and I won’t let you suffer.”

As she spoke, the old lady was about to leave, but noticed that Edward Clark still hadn’t moved. He said gravely, “Grandma, it’s not that the The Harris Family are being heartless—they’re in trouble.”

“In trouble?” The old lady didn’t believe it. “William Harris is the Chief of Staff, holding military power. What trouble could he have? Don’t talk nonsense, child!”

Edward Clark shook his head. “Grandma, when we went to pay respects at The Harris Residence, someone was following us. After we entered, I saw that everyone in the The Harris Family looked fearful, and the whole household was in chaos. They drove us out and scolded us fiercely, but didn’t really lay a hand on us—it was as if they were putting on a show for someone. Also, the city gates suddenly closed before noon. That’s definitely not normal…”

Edward Clark wasn’t just making things up. He was familiar with the history of the Five Dynasties, a period full of absurdities, and among all the absurd events, the actions of the Han Hidden Emperor Henry Bennett definitely ranked in the top three—utterly brainless!

Later Han’s founding emperor Samuel Bennett replaced Later Jin, but died less than a year after ascending the throne, and his son Henry Bennett succeeded him. The young emperor was just a boy, with all real power in the hands of a few old ministers. A young ruler with a suspicious court and fierce ministers everywhere—this was a thorny situation faced by almost every boy emperor, and it was especially dangerous in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. One wrong move, and the dynasty could be overthrown.

Yet Henry Bennett chose the most brutal and straightforward way to deal with the powerful ministers.

He had his own confidants set up an ambush in the palace and, in one fell swoop, killed the Prime Minister Matthew Scott, the Commander of the Cavalry Stephen Wright, and the Minister of the Three Departments Richard Thompson.

Not only did he kill these three, but he also wiped out their entire families.

In the first round, the young emperor won a complete victory.

Next, the young emperor set his sights on the Chief of Staff William Harris.

William Harris was different from the other three. He commanded troops outside the capital and had extremely high prestige—even the Khitan feared William Harris to some extent. He was truly a pillar of the state.

Faced with such a formidable figure, one should proceed slowly and carefully. But Henry Bennett didn’t take the usual path. He directly ordered the Commander of the Cavalry James Harris to kill William Harris and Thomas Thompson, and then issued an edict to the Military Governor Joseph Thompson to eliminate Robert Thompson.

If these three were killed as successfully as the previous trio, all the old ministers would be wiped out.

But Joseph Thompson was rebellious at heart and leaked the news.

Elder Harris was no ordinary man. He immediately consulted with his advisers, forged an imperial edict, and instead threatened his own officers, saying the emperor had ordered him to kill everyone.

Of course, the officers and soldiers were furious. This was the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the most chaotic and unreasonable time—rebellion by generals was as easy as drinking cold water.

Immediately, the brave and fierce soldiers rallied around William Harris, raised the banner of “clearing out traitors from the emperor’s side,” and marched grandly back to Kaifeng.

These men were all battle-hardened veterans, able to stand up to the Khitan. How could the weak troops under Henry Bennett possibly match them? William Harris, bold and unstoppable, fought his way back to the capital.

When the young emperor learned that William Harris had raised troops, he flew into a rage and immediately killed William Harris’s entire family.

It was this upheaval that caused William Harris to lose his beloved wife Mrs. Carter and two sons. With no biological son to inherit the throne, he had no choice but to pass it to his adopted son Abraham Carter… Edward Clark realized that he was related to the The Harris Family and was about to visit them in the city, so he thought to find an opportunity to warn the The Harris Family to beware of the emperor’s treachery.

If he could save the lives of the The Harris Family, then when Elder Harris ascended the throne, he would instantly be holding onto the thickest thigh in the world—just thinking about it was exciting.

But who would have thought that the timing of his transmigration would be so bad?

He had arrived in this world two days ago, muddleheadedly following Clark into the city, only to be driven out by the The Harris Family before he could give any warning.

In Edward Clark’s judgment, William Harris was a decent man, and the head of the household, Mrs. Carter, was an extraordinary woman. There was really no need for them to treat their poor relatives so harshly and coldly.

When he saw the imperial guards closing the city gates, Edward Clark guessed most of what was happening.

It was bad—the young emperor had already made his move!

Edward Clark cried out in regret, but the old lady seemed to be deep in thought.

She had just been muddled with anger, but now that she thought back, the The Harris Family really had been acting strangely. They were very warm when she first arrived, but as soon as they reported to Mrs. Carter, their attitude changed instantly. That was far too quick!