Edward Howard's expression was as calm as still water. He turned and walked back to Charles Carter, lowering his voice: "Charles brother, don't worry. I will definitely get to the bottom of what happened today. But shouldn't we first disperse these people? In such a noisy and chaotic situation, there are bound to be those with ulterior motives spreading rumors. Not only will this not solve the problem, it will only make things worse."

What Edward Howard said was indeed true. Charles Carter, holding his daughter, was burning with anger inside, but because of Edward Howard's official position, he didn't dare to show it. While he was hesitating, his two sons could no longer hold back. John Carter shouted, "What do you mean, get to the bottom of it? The facts are right in front of us, everyone saw it— that bastard forcibly took my sister and ruined her reputation! His crimes are monstrous. We won't rest until this villain is executed..." Before he could finish, Charles Carter raised his hand and gave him a hard slap, angrily rebuking, "You fool, is this your place to speak?"

John Carter deserved the slap. In his anger, he even called him a bastard. Little William is the bastard, which was basically calling Edward Howard an old turtle to his face. On top of that, he was shouting that Little William ruined his sister's reputation—everyone heard it loud and clear. Regardless of whether Little William actually did anything to Grace Carter, how would others see it in the future? With the The Carter Family making such a big scene, and the fact that Little William did take Grace Carter away, what really happened during that time? People couldn't help but speculate. Even if nothing happened, Grace Carter's reputation would inevitably be affected.

At this moment, the Prefect of the Capital, Henry Ford, hurried over with several subordinates, accompanied by the third son of the The Carter Family, James Carter. Seeing the scene before him, Henry Ford secretly cursed his luck. He didn't care how much conflict there was between the The Howard Family and the The Carter Family, but today, after Helen Morgan heard the news and led several constables to the Minister's residence first, he was inevitably dragged into the matter. If it weren't for Helen Morgan's involvement, Henry Ford wouldn't have bothered to wade into these muddy waters. The two families could fight however they liked—when it was over, if someone was injured, he'd help send them to the doctor; if someone died, he'd help collect the body. As for who was right or wrong, that could be sorted out later. Being an official in the capital was tough. The title of Prefect of the Capital sounded impressive, and he was barely a high-ranking official, but in this city, there were countless people with higher rank than him, not to mention all those royal relatives. To be an official in the capital, you had to take care of relationships in every direction. One careless move and you didn't know who you might offend. It was truly a struggle to survive in the cracks, every step was difficult.

Henry Ford walked over and first greeted Edward Howard and Charles Carter. Edward Howard said, "Ford Lord, you came at just the right time. Why don't you handle this matter?"

Henry Ford cursed inwardly, thinking, "How did your family business get pushed onto me? Isn't this making things hard for me?" Henry Ford coughed and said, "Gentlemen, I think we should have the unrelated people withdraw first." The unrelated people naturally referred to the helpers brought by the The Carter Family brothers.

Although Charles Carter was angry, he wasn't muddle-headed. Even if they were in the right, barging into the Minister's residence and starting a fight was a fact. It was best to have these people leave first.

John Carter, having just been slapped by his father, was still holding his face in grievance. Hearing that the Prefect wanted them to leave, his pent-up anger was immediately ignited. He protested loudly, "Why should we leave? If we don't get justice for our The Carter Family today, we absolutely won't go!"

With so many people, and most of them thinking the law can't punish everyone, as soon as John Carter said this, the crowd immediately started to stir again.

Charles Carter really didn't know what to do with this son, cursing him inwardly for not knowing the situation.

At this moment, a lazy voice said, "They really can't be allowed to leave!"

Everyone turned to look and saw Little William walking over. Somehow, he had gotten himself a blue long robe, but he wasn't wearing any pants underneath, exposing two bare calves, making him look even more ridiculous than before.

Edward Howard also frowned. In his view, his son wasn't very bright—his mind was still not right. Only by sending these people away first could they minimize the trouble. If things got out of hand, it would definitely be bad for their The Howard Family.

Little William said, "You lot smashed our gate, beat up our servants, insulted the reputation of my The Howard Family, slandered my name, and did all the bad things. Now you want to just walk away? Where in the world is it that easy?"

Among the three brothers, Steven Carter was the most eloquent. He stepped forward and pointed at Little William, saying, "You're spouting nonsense! It was you who forcibly took my sister, and now you're the villain accusing others first."

Little William chuckled, "You say I took her—what evidence do you have?"

Steven Carter shouted angrily, "We all saw it! My sister is the witness!"

Little William pointed at the still-smoldering grass pavilion, "Was it you who set that pavilion on fire?"

Steven Carter looked at the pavilion. He was a bold man—if he did it, he wasn't afraid to admit it. He glared, "So what? I set it on fire!"

Little William said, "And what crime do you deserve for that?"

Steven Carter replied, "It's just a shabby grass pavilion. So what if I burned it? Even if I tore it down, what could you do? At worst, I'll pay for a new one!"