Grace Warren had always known that her younger brother had been single-mindedly devoted to his studies since childhood, with a somewhat withdrawn personality. Attempts to persuade him had always backfired, so she never expected Frank Warren's reaction to be so calm. She hesitated for a moment, recalling the scholarly customs she’d heard about from her husband, and couldn’t help but say cautiously, “By rights, now that you’ve passed the entrance exam, it’s normal to have a study boy to attend to your writing and ink. But that Qiufeng, though handsome, his character is unknown. Besides, accepting such a lavish gift means you must return the favor—twelve taels of silver is no small sum…”

She hadn’t finished speaking when Frank Warren suddenly interrupted her with a serious expression: “Elder sister, although that Young Master Cheng and I passed the exam the same year, we’re not close enough for him to gift me a servant. At several banquets, he always brought a study boy named Moxiang and spoke to me with ambiguous words. This time, when he sent Qiufeng through a broker, his words were even more indecent. Sister, look at this letter.”

Seeing Frank Warren openly hand her a letter, Grace Warren felt both relieved and moved. She was relieved that her younger brother had finally learned some worldly wisdom, and moved by his trust in her. She hurriedly took the letter, and after reading it from beginning to end, her brows shot up and her face turned green with anger.

“Shameless scoundrel!”

Good! As long as she had made things clear with her elder sister, in the future she could justifiably sever ties with that man suspected of having a fondness for boys, and draw a clear line!

Frank Warren was gnashing his teeth inwardly, but still turned around to comfort his elder sister: “Sister, you can know a person’s face but not their heart. In short, I made friends with the wrong person, and I won’t associate with him anymore.”

“My little brother…” Grace Warren couldn’t help but reach out to smooth the messy hair on Frank Warren’s forehead. Seeing him a bit uncomfortable, she couldn’t help but laugh. “If you can think this way, I can rest easy. This time you were injured by thieves, and since our parents aren’t here, even though uncle is looking after you, I still begged my in-laws to let me come back and care for you for a few days. Now that you’ve woken up, I must return to my husband’s family.”

At this point, Grace Warren hesitated again. She didn’t know when she’d be able to return to her family home to visit her brother. With rumors swirling outside, should she warn Frank Warren? But he was still weak…

Just then, Second Mother’s loud voice suddenly rang out from outside.

“Elder sister, brother, uncle is here!”

Grace Warren, being considerate, immediately said, “Uncle isn’t an outsider. You’re still recovering from serious injuries, so there’s no need to go out and greet him. I’ll go out and have a look. You wait here—uncle won’t blame you.”

“Is that proper?” Frank Warren was worried about revealing a flaw in front of relatives, but also wanted to gather more information. In the end, his sense of crisis prevailed. “This time I owe my recovery to uncle’s care. I even met the broker sent by Young Master Cheng—how could I not go greet uncle myself?”

But as soon as he finished speaking, before he could act, a booming voice sounded from outside the door: “Shuangmu, are you really all right?”

Chapter Four: The Overlord’s Candied Hawthorn

Frank Warren already knew from the diary that he was a bit young, and although he had passed the county exam, no elder had yet given him a courtesy name. By that logic, Shuangmu must be his childhood nickname—literally “double wood makes a forest,” easy to say and remember.

He hadn’t expected the visitor to arrive so quickly. Frank Warren was still half-sitting on the bed. Even Grace Warren hadn’t had time to get up when a burly, robust middle-aged man entered the room. The man looked to be about forty, with a square face, thick brows, and big eyes—clearly a straightforward and easygoing type. At this moment, his face was full of unconcealed concern, mingled with surprise and joy.

Frank Warren knew this must be uncle Thomas Wood.

Thomas Wood strode forward and pressed Frank Warren, who seemed about to get up, back onto the bed with a strong hand. He stared at Frank Warren for a long moment, completely unaware that his gaze was making the other nervous and even break out in a sweat.

“At last, your good fortune has prevailed!” Thomas Wood finally let go, smiling as he spoke. “I told you—even a newly enrolled scholar has the stars above watching over him. How could a few petty thieves do you in!”

To this kind of talk, Frank Warren could only sweat bullets. But thinking of the whole “narrow escape from death,” he no longer dared to disbelieve in gods and spirits, and could only nod. “Even if it really was the gods’ protection, it was thanks to uncle’s efforts, and to elder sister, second sister, and little sister’s careful care.”

Frank Warren thought this was just a polite remark, but to his surprise, Thomas Wood was even more gratified: “Shuangmu, after this ordeal, you’re not as dull as before. This is the first time I’ve seen you speak so well!”

Crap, it seemed the previous guy wasn’t very good at dealing with people, just a fool who quietly kept a diary—he’d accidentally let something slip!

Thomas Wood had no idea that Frank Warren was picturing scenes of demon-slaying in his mind. Although Frank Warren was his own nephew, from Yanzhen’s southern hills to this Songming Mountain village was still ten li—not far, but not close either. Plus, since Frank Warren had been studying hard since childhood, he’d actually never spoken much with this nephew before.

At this moment, he simply thought Frank Warren had matured after this ordeal, and his attitude became all the more warm.