The old lady felt that her grandson made sense—perhaps she had wrongly blamed good people... The old lady pulled up Edward Clark and hurried toward The Harris Residence. There was still some distance to go, but they soon found it impossible to get close; even the entrance to the street was filled with imperial guards. The Harris Family had already been taken away, and at that moment, people were moving gold, silver, and valuables out of The Harris Residence, piling boxes high on carriages, parading them through the streets. The old lady suddenly felt her legs go weak and nearly fell.

Edward Clark quickly supported his grandmother!

“Grandma!”

The old lady shook her head, full of sorrow, and said softly, “I’m fine, let’s go!”

The two of them carefully avoided a street, didn’t look for an inn, and instead sat quietly beside a dilapidated earth temple.

In fact, the court had ordered the city gates closed and raided the home of the Privy Envoy William Harris—what a commotion! Inns throughout the capital had closed their doors early; even if they wanted to find a place to stay, there was nowhere to go.

The grandmother and grandson were both exhausted and hungry. Clark, feeling sorry for her grandson, reached into her bundle. The bundle contained some walnuts, dates, dried vegetables, and mushrooms—local goods her son-in-law had specially prepared as a gift for The Harris Family. Though not valuable, it was a token of goodwill.

Clark wanted to grab a handful of dates for her grandson, but something felt off. She pulled it out abruptly and found it was a string of copper coins, which startled her so much that she immediately stuffed it back in, her heart pounding.

She looked around warily, saw no one, and then carefully checked the bundle.

It turned out there were several strings of copper coins inside, some silver ingots in the walnut bag, and a few gold beads in the mushroom bag.

The old lady was even more shocked—this was no small sum!

A rough estimate put it at dozens of strings of coins, especially the gold and silver. Though not in circulation, they could be exchanged at a money house for hard cash!

Who put these in the bundle?

Her son-in-law?

Don’t be ridiculous. If that wastrel had this much money, he’d gamble, eat, and drink it away—he’d never use it as a gift! That left only one possibility: it was put there by The Harris Family!

The old lady looked in the direction of The Harris Residence, her face flushing with shame, not knowing what to say.

She was wrong, truly wrong!

The Harris Family didn’t look down on them. The old lady wondered, “Were they afraid of implicating us?”

“Mm!” Edward Clark said seriously, “If The Harris Family hadn’t driven us out, but let us stay for a meal and rest, we might have been taken as family and arrested too.”

Clark clutched a gold bead, ashamed. “They were thoughtful, hiding money in our bundle, deliberately throwing us out, and saying those harsh words—all for the benefit of those watching in secret!”

Clark felt even more guilty. She had lived so many years, thought she understood the ways of the world, but never expected she had misjudged The Harris Family!

She had cursed them so much in her heart—how embarrassing!

While the old lady was feeling sad, suddenly, from the other side of the street, someone came running in a panic, clutching a swaddled baby. She ran close to Edward Clark, but slipped and fell, desperately protecting the child in her arms. Her arms and legs were scraped and she struggled in pain, unable to get up for a moment.

Clark reached out to help her up. The woman looked up, eyes wide in surprise, and cried out, “It’s the old madam!” Clark also recognized her—she was Mrs. Carter’s personal maid, named Grace...

Chapter 3: The Orphan of Harris

When they first entered The Harris Family, it was Grace who received them. She was polite and well-spoken, personally accepted Clark’s gift, and went to inform Mrs. Carter, leaving a good impression on Clark.

But after a while, a steward arrived and his attitude changed completely—ferocious and harsh, driving the grandmother and grandson out. Now it seemed it was all a misunderstanding.

The old lady felt guilty and became even more kind.

“Miss, why are you in such a hurry? This child?”

Grace saw Clark and her grandson. Though they had only met once, now that all of The Harris Family had been arrested, Clark was the only family left. Grace hesitated for a moment, then suddenly knelt down.

“Old madam, please save us!”

Clark quickly reached out to help her up. Grace was clever and quickly explained what had happened today... It turned out that not long ago, after the tragic deaths of three high officials, there were many spies around The Harris Family, and every move in the mansion was being watched.

Mrs. Carter instinctively sensed danger, but with William Harris not at home, what could a woman do! She thought the court might hesitate, fearing William Harris’s power, and might not dare to move against The Harris Family.

Things had been peaceful for a while. This morning, upon hearing that the old lady of The Clark Family had arrived, Mrs. Carter was very happy.

Though they hadn’t visited in years, Carter still remembered that Old Master Clark had once saved William Harris’s life, and this old lady was actually William Harris’s maternal cousin—how could she neglect family?

She was about to go out to greet them when someone rushed in with urgent news: the court was in session, and His Majesty had decided to take down The Harris Family, sending the imperial uncle Peter Thompson to lead the arrest—they would arrive at any moment.

This terrified Mrs. Carter, but she was no ordinary woman and quickly regained her composure.

The court was coming to arrest them—there would be no good outcome. They couldn’t escape, but she couldn’t let the The Harris Family line be cut off! Mrs. Carter thought quickly, hurried to the side courtyard, and picked up a baby, handing it to Grace.