James Thompson said, "Then what do you want?"

Henry Clark said, "I want to take the imperial exam as usual. After the exam, whatever happens, happens."

James Thompson said, "With your grades, after the exam you'll be assigned to clean toilets."

Henry Clark lowered his head again and said nothing.

James Thompson looked at Henry Clark for a long while, his gaze growing somewhat complicated. With a sigh, he said, "What do you really think in your heart?"

Henry Clark thought for a moment and said, "I clearly didn't harass Olivia Cooper, but she still framed me and wants me dead. And you, even though you know I'm innocent, still abandoned me."

James Thompson's gaze turned cold as he said, "So you're blaming me?"

"No." Henry Clark immediately put on an Oscar-worthy performance and said, "I've just come to deeply understand one thing: weakness is an original sin. After being abandoned by my family, I lost my purpose and direction, started to give up on myself, and completely immersed myself in my own world. I grew flowers and took care of small animals, thinking I was noble and above the mundane. But after this incident, I realized I'm worthless. If I died, my family would breathe a sigh of relief, my parents wouldn't shed a single tear, and my younger brother would even clap and celebrate. Only my wet nurse would be heartbroken, maybe even follow me in death. In the end, it's only the ones who love me that suffer, and my enemies rejoice. So I have no right to be weak anymore, nor to give up on myself. I've realized I'm afraid of death, I don't want to die. If I want to live, I must become stronger."

James Thompson gazed deeply at Henry Clark and said, "Well said, but it's meaningless. The exam is in half a year, and you're already four and a half years behind. No amount of grand talk can make up for that. I also won't allow you to stay at the academy for another year; that would be unfair to everyone. If you stay by my side, you still have a future. Otherwise, you have no future at all."

Henry Clark said, "I want to try to win everything with my own strength, and become someone even more useful to you in the future."

"I don't want idiots, and you are an idiot." James Thompson stood up directly and said, "Do whatever you want. But I gave you a chance, you refused it, and I won't give you a second one. When the exam results come out, I won't show any favoritism. If you should be cleaning toilets, you'll clean toilets. If you should be in the kitchen, you'll be in the kitchen."

With that, James Thompson left immediately, not saying another word.

Henry Clark was speechless in his heart. He also wanted to follow behind James Thompson and become an adopted son of a powerful official. But he couldn't—if he did, the dream system would kill him.

……

After James Thompson left, another middle-aged eunuch immediately followed him. He was Henry Clark's riding instructor, David Thompson.

"How is this kid?" James Thompson asked.

David Thompson said, "Very foolish."

James Thompson snorted coldly and said nothing.

David Thompson said, "But there are already too many cunning people among us eunuchs. We need someone with backbone."

"The graduation exam is in half a year. He has no hope." James Thompson said, "If he wants to clean toilets, let him. After a year or so, call him back and polish him up. My adopted son is bound to have a bright future."

"Yes!" David Thompson lowered his head, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

The man before him, James Thompson, was not only his superior, but also the one he was loyal to and admired. He knew this ruthless party leader all too well—once he set his mind on someone, he would never give up on them. Although Henry Clark hadn't kowtowed or called him godfather, in James Thompson's heart, he had already accepted this adopted son.

David Thompson hesitated for a moment and said, "Director, we've already killed dozens of people from the The Cooper Family side and arrested hundreds. Should we slow down a bit? I'm worried about Yangzhou..."

"Keep arresting, keep killing. Kill until the The Cooper Family are afraid, until the The Foster Family are afraid, until they never dare provoke us again." James Thompson said coldly, "As for Yangzhou, have someone tell Michael Bolton. If he wants to compromise with Brian Cooper, that's his business. I have a stiff backbone—not only will I not bow, I won't even lower my head. If anyone has a problem, they can go complain about me to the ancestors in the capital."

Michael Bolton, the supervising eunuch of Yangzhou, also served as a commander of the Eastern Depot, and like James Thompson, was a rising star among the eunuchs. (Because of maritime trade, Yangzhou held a very high status in the Great Ning Dynasty and had its own supervising eunuch.)

"Yes," David Thompson bowed.

……

In modern Earth terms, Henry Clark had just set a flag for himself: he would rely on his own strength to take the imperial exam, rather than become James Thompson's personal attendant through favoritism.

But according to Henry Clark's ability to read people, he felt that James Thompson was a very determined and tough person. If Henry Clark had gone with the flow, agreed to be his attendant, and immediately called him godfather, his standing in James Thompson's heart would actually have dropped, and the favor of risking his life to save him would have been used up all at once.

But by showing that he wouldn't accept handouts, Henry Clark would actually earn more respect and appreciation from James Thompson.

As for the exam in half a year... well, all he could do was give it his all and leave the rest to fate.

Of course, as long as he had weight in James Thompson's heart, even with terrible grades, he'd still have a good future. But if everything in the dream was true, if he failed the ultimate exam, Henry Clark wouldn't even get the chance to clean toilets.