Over the past twenty years, the great aristocratic families of the south have repeatedly rebelled under the banner of the Great Qian Dynasty, only to be suppressed by the court time and again. To this day, in more than a dozen southern provinces, the main officials are still exclusively northerners. These officials, hailing from the imperial clan and the seven great families, have as their primary mission the surveillance of the southern powerful clans, to stamp out rebellion in its infancy.

From time to time, the court also dispatches imperial envoys on southern inspection tours to assess the results of pacification and suppression efforts in each province. The reports of these envoys have become a crucial basis for the promotion of provincial and county officials. Therefore, whenever an imperial envoy arrives, local leaders are on high alert, handling matters with extreme caution, fearful that any mistake might ruin their future prospects.

This time, the imperial envoy is of even more extraordinary status. He is none other than the brother of the The Carter Clan leader, Duke Zhen Guo, and current Grand Tutor Brian Carter... Marquis Xiongwuhou, Left General Raymond Carter!

Since the founding of the current dynasty, the The Carter Clan has been the leader of the seven great noble families outside the royal family. Ten years ago, after the assassination of the late Emperor Min, they supported King Ping—now the current Emperor Chu Shi—to ascend the throne. Over the past decade, the The Carter Clan has held the reins of military and political power in Da Xuan, with their protégés and former subordinates spread throughout the central and local governments. Their influence has expanded rapidly, to the point where they seem to overshadow the royal family itself!

Now, with such an important figure from the The Carter Clan serving as imperial envoy on a southern tour, how could local officials not be trembling with fear and anxiety? Even before Raymond Carter’s arrival, the Inspector of Yangzhou led all civil and military officials of the province to the border to greet him, kneeling to welcome the imperial envoy in person. William Brooks, as an assistant official of Wu Commandery in Yangzhou, was also among the welcoming party.

Looking at the more than two hundred colleagues around him, all dressed in black, William Brooks felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.

But so what? He was just a minor sixth-rank commandery officer, at the mercy of the bigwigs, merely a background figure, with no right to stand out.

But thinking about it from another perspective, the Inspector himself might not be feeling any better. Usually a dignified and imposing regional governor, a third-rank Inspector, now he was as uneasy as a partridge in a cold wind, his face already plastered with a flattering smile, surely feeling miserable inside.

Even the much-anticipated, high-and-mighty imperial envoy himself was probably not entirely at ease. It was said that the The Carter Clan had extremely strict family rules, and the clan leader Brian Carter would often discipline his younger relatives with the family rod, with even his much older brother not exempt. As for Marquis Xiongwuhou Raymond Carter, he was known to be somewhat incorrigible. When William Brooks was in the capital, he occasionally heard stories of Raymond Carter being beaten so badly by his elder brother that he couldn’t get out of bed. Who knows if he’s been beaten again in recent years...

Speaking of which, it’s been ten years since he left the capital. He wondered how that woman was doing... but most likely, not well.

As William Brooks was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the long blare of horns. Looking up, he saw a large contingent of cavalry, banners and ceremonial flags held high, rolling down the official road. Among the dozens of banners, two stood out in particular. The first was a large sapphire-blue banner at the front, emblazoned with seven massive golden characters: “Imperial Envoy, Jiangnan Pacification Commissioner”!

This was the imperial envoy’s banner, bestowed by the emperor!

The other, of similar size but black, bore two large seal-script characters: “Xiahou”! Around the characters was a border of fierce tiger and beast patterns! On the reverse side of the flag was simply a tiger’s head, ready to devour its prey!

This was the clan banner of the The Carter Clan!

The two banners flew side by side, fluttering proudly over the land north of the Yangtze!

The Inspector was already hurrying forward to greet them. William Brooks quickly composed himself and followed his colleagues in step with their superior, preparing to welcome the imperial envoy! To welcome the representative of the The Carter Clan!

Chapter Four: The Hardworking Imperial Envoy

Raymond Carter, just over fifty, still had a strong and robust physique thanks to years of martial training, showing no signs of aging. Only the slight darkness around his eyes suggested a bit of overindulgence in wine and women.

This trip as imperial envoy was truly one of the proudest moments of his life. From the capital, the roads were paved with yellow earth, and officials of all ranks lined up to greet him along the way. The Inspectors and Governors of every province he passed treated him with utmost respect and trepidation, accompanying him from entry to exit. The gifts and tributes from each province, commandery, and county were so numerous that his entourage could not carry them all and had to send them back to the capital in batches.

And that was just passing through. Yangzhou, as one of his main inspection destinations, went even further, treating him like a deity. From the moment he entered the province, the Inspector personally attended to him day and night like a servant, making the Marquis feel both comfortable and annoyed.

Finally, after crossing the river, Raymond Carter could no longer bear it and sent the Inspector of Yangzhou away. His reason was perfectly legitimate: “I am on an inspection mission by imperial order. If you’re always hovering around me, how can I see anything?”

The Inspector had no response and could only obediently remain in the provincial capital, Jinling. Before parting, still uneasy, he gathered all the local governors, deputy governors, and commandery officers, instructing them repeatedly to serve the imperial envoy as if he were their own ancestor, and warning that if anything went wrong, he would not let them off!

The local governors and assistant officials naturally agreed, then went back to secretly pray that the imperial envoy would not visit their jurisdictions. These officials were all extremely shrewd; after a few days of careful observation, they already understood that the Inspector’s attentiveness to Raymond Carter was more for the sake of the The Carter Clan than for the man himself.