That goateed Samuel Parker, however, spoke alarmingly: “Yet I have something to say. May I ask, Your Majesty, when inviting the Grand Minister of Works of Song for a hunting trip, according to ritual, should he be received at the Jin State Ancestral Temple, or at the Zhao family shrine? To visit another state, without first meeting the ruler, but entering a private residence; without presenting credentials, but first befriending a subordinate minister—this is a breach of propriety! I absolutely dare not let Minister Peter Wright fall into such a position of distrust and impropriety! I beg Your Majesty to retract this disorderly command!”

Look at that, look at that, Samuel Parker actually called it a disorderly command! Edward Carter was not a ruler with a good temper; he nearly slammed the table and sent Samuel Parker off to Wendi to guard the ancestral temple.

Fortunately, his daughter Henry Blake happened to appear, interrupting their quarrel, and the lord and his minister parted in displeasure. Edward Carter had always been decisive in action, and regardless of what Samuel Parker thought, after the morning meal, he led a grand procession, carrying his visiting card, to the guesthouse outside the East Gate, to meet with the Grand Minister of Works of Song and proceed to the Zhao family’s private estate for a winter hunt and banquet.

At that moment, the Song state’s procession emerged from the guesthouse, slowly approaching.

Edward Carter withdrew from his thoughts, gently stroked his fine beard, and displayed a standard aristocratic smile.

“Lord Le!”

The Grand Minister of Works of Song, Peter Wright, was on the war chariot opposite. Seeing the grand display Edward Carter had put on, he felt a wave of bitterness in his heart. As expected, the prediction of that skilled diviner in his retinue had come true—he had been drawn into the struggle among the six ministers of Jin.

Yet his expression did not change; he smiled and cupped his hands toward Edward Carter.

“Lord Zhao!”

“May I ask, Lord Le, how is the health of the Duke of Song?”

“My lord is very well, thank you, Lord Zhao, for your concern.”

The two were both lower ministers in their respective states. According to ritual, their attendants presented the customary gifts of a young animal, a lamb, and a goose as tokens of respect. After inquiring about the well-being of each other’s ruler, they stopped in the middle of the road and began to politely defer to one another.

“Lord Le, you are an honored guest of Jin. I, Edward, must ask you to go first.”

“I dare not, I dare not. The virtuous minister Zang Xuanshu of Lu once said, ‘A lower minister of a great state is equal in rank to an upper minister of another great state.’ My rank is humble; please, Lord Zhao, go first.”

“Lord Le, you are too modest. You are older than I, Edward; according to the rites of Zhou, the elder should go first…”

After a round of polite refusals, the two chariots proceeded side by side, with Edward Carter’s chariot just half a horse’s head ahead. The chariots were so close that the two ministers could converse easily.

Peter Wright looked at the opposing charioteer and praised, “Lord Zhao, is your charioteer the famed ‘Bo Le of Jin,’ Minister Frank Bell? His charioteering skills are indeed superb—he controls the four horses as deftly as moving his own fingers. He could truly rival the Bo Le of Qin under Duke Mu of Qin.”

Edward Carter had always enjoyed gathering talented men from across the land, and was somewhat proud of this. Not to be outdone, he immediately returned the compliment.

“Lord Le, your retinue also includes many talented people. I have heard that among them is Philip Scott, skilled in divination and physiognomy, who can tell a man’s career and family fortune at a glance… May I ask if Philip Scott is among your entourage?”

As he spoke, he turned to look at the secondary chariot following Peter Wright’s procession, hoping to spot the famed diviner known among the feudal lords.

Peter Wright replied, “That Philip Scott is a maverick, disliking the constraints of ritual and law. Early this morning, he left the guesthouse alone in his own carriage…”

“He’s gone?” Edward Carter was a bit disappointed. “It seems my virtue is too shallow to be fated for a meeting.”

Peter Wright stroked his long beard and smiled, “No need to worry, Lord Zhao. Before he left, he said he was going to Mianshang to visit the tomb of your state’s famous man, Richard Lee, so he went ahead. When we arrive at the hunting grounds, perhaps we’ll catch up with him.”

Edward Carter nodded, reassured. He looked ahead, unconsciously wishing the convoy would move faster. The issue of the clan’s heir had always been a source of anxiety for him.

He was not satisfied with any of his sons. That gentle and dutiful eldest legitimate son, John Carter—could he shoulder the great responsibility of the clan? This concerned the rise and fall of the family and must be handled with utmost caution. In the four-hundred-year history of the Zhao clan, every succession of the clan leader had been the most vulnerable moment for the family.

There had even been a catastrophe known as the “Disaster of the Lower Palace,” which nearly wiped out the family. Fortunately, Edward Carter’s grandfather, Thomas Carter, the “Orphan of Zhao,” had continued the family line. Otherwise, the Zhao clan would have long since declined and perished in Jin, just like the Hu, Xian, and Luan clans, once noble families.

According to the customs of the pre-Qin era, when faced with a difficult decision, one would consult the tortoise shell or the spirits. That was why he wanted the diviner Philip Scott to help him see which of his sons was most fit for great responsibility.

Of course, that lowborn son William, who had recently disgraced himself at the banquet, was not even worth considering. In Edward Carter’s mind, he had never been included among the candidates for heir.

He only hoped that Philip Scott would not stray into the deep forests of the hunting grounds near Mianshang, for there were many fierce birds and beasts there, and a single sword would not suffice.

Edward Carter’s most pressing matter at the moment was to win over Peter Wright and, in the process, bind Song to Jin’s chariot.

Looking at the power struggle in the Central Plains, it had become a contest between Jin and Qi. Whichever side the Song state, with its thousand war chariots, favored would gain the advantage. Edward Carter hoped he could successfully secure this diplomatic victory and maintain Jin’s century-old hegemony.

He was full of confidence in this. Peter Wright was a well-known pro-Jin figure, and not long ago had personally responded to Jin’s call to arms, sending troops to punish Zheng for disrespecting the Son of Heaven. Edward Carter had been friends with him for many years and knew each other’s temperaments very well.