Little William pointed at Steven Carter with his finger: "You are truly rebellious! You actually want to tear down the imperial court and even build a new one. This is disrespectful to Da Kang. Clearly, this is treason!" The others were talking about a thatched pavilion, but he insisted on calling it the imperial court.

Steven Carter was so angry that his face turned red, and he shouted, "How dare you slander me! I said I wanted to tear down the thatched pavilion—when did I ever say I wanted to tear down the imperial court?"

"As if you’d dare overthrow the imperial court! Look at your sneaky, cowardly face—do you even have the guts?"

Steven Carter couldn’t withstand his provocation, and roared, "So what? I’m not afraid of anything! What if I do overthrow the imperial court..." Only then did he realize he had fallen into the trap, and stood there dumbfounded.

Everyone on The Walker Family's side was scared pale. My god, this guy dares to say anything.

Little William kept pointing at Steven Carter: "Oh... so you really are a traitor, actually wanting to overthrow the imperial court?"

Steven Carter was shaking with rage, and shouted, "I said overthrow the thatched pavilion..."

Everyone heard it clearly—it was still overthrow the imperial court.

Little William spread his hands, looking helpless: "Everyone heard it. He wants to commit treason. You all decide what to do!"

Steven Carter couldn’t defend himself, let out a strange wail, drew the knife at his waist and was about to charge at Little William: "I’m furious, you scoundrel! Prepare to die..." The knife had just been drawn an inch when John Carter pressed it back, and behind him James Carter rushed up and held him tightly, loudly reminding, "Second brother, calm down!"

Little William looked around at the group behind the The Carter Family brothers: "Who else was involved in burning the thatched pavilion just now?"

They looked at each other, but no one answered.

"Anyone else?"

With a whoosh, over a hundred people scattered in an instant. Burning a thatched pavilion at worst meant jail, but burning the imperial court meant beheading. Just now, Little William had forced Steven Carter to blurt out about overthrowing the imperial court in front of everyone. If that crime was pinned on him, it would mean extermination of his entire clan—there wouldn’t be enough heads to chop off. No one was stupid enough to get involved in treason. If you don’t leave now, when will you?

The Prefect of Jingzhao, Henry Ford, watched as the hundred-plus troublemakers fled cleanly in an instant, but didn’t order his men to stop them. His principle in handling this matter was to smooth things over as much as possible, turning big problems into small ones, and small ones into nothing.

Over there, Charles Carter was so frightened he nearly lost his soul. Although he knew his son had been tricked by Little William, words about overthrowing the imperial court must never be spoken lightly. If this reached the emperor’s ears, not only would he lose his official position, but everyone in the The Carter Family might lose their heads. People said Edward Howard's son was a deaf and dumb fool, but seeing him today, he realized this kid was not only extremely clever but also cunning and sinister to the extreme. His own son’s intelligence was nothing in comparison. Both are sons—look at how others turn out!

Edward Howard hadn’t said much all along, but in his mind he was constantly calculating how to turn the situation around. The facts were right in front of him—how to reverse the situation and resolve this trouble? Little William's words just now not only scared off over a hundred of The Carter Family's helpers, but also shocked Edward Howard himself beyond words.

Edward Howard looked at his son as if seeing him for the first time, staring in astonishment, a mix of shock and delight in his heart. Is this really my son? Distorting black and white, spouting nonsense, turning defeat into victory, danger into safety—a completely passive situation was turned around by just a few words. Thatched pavilion! Imperial court! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I’ve served two emperors of Da Kang, been an official for decades, schemed against countless people, but never thought of such a clever idea. This son must be my own flesh and blood—so cunning, so wicked, to come up with such a devious trick. Who else but me, Edward Howard, could have fathered such a rare specimen? Hahaha, wonderful! Wonderful! Heaven has eyes, heaven has eyes, my Hu family has a worthy successor, my Hu family has a worthy successor!

Although Steven Carter had uttered such treasonous words, Henry Ford saw clearly from the side that this foolish boy had simply been goaded into it by Little William. Henry Ford's view was one of anger at his incompetence and pity for his misfortune. At a time like this, he decided to play deaf and dumb, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.

At this moment, Edward Howard spoke: "Lord Hong, what do you think..." Although he didn’t say much, the pause at this critical moment was highly significant—it was clearly forcing Henry Ford to take a stand.

Chapter 11: Spouting Nonsense (Part 2)

Henry Ford was truly in a dilemma. If he said nothing, he risked offending Edward Howard; but if he spoke in his favor, it would be aiding and abetting, clearly targeting the The Carter Family. While he was hesitating, Charles Carter spoke up.

Charles Carter had no choice but to speak. If he didn’t, who knew what trouble his son might cause next? He said in a low voice, "Lord Hu, Lord Hong, I think we should sit down and clarify this matter first." Clearly, he was the one being bullied, but he took the initiative to back down. It wasn’t Edward Howard's official authority that intimidated him, but rather the passive position his son’s careless words had put him in. Overthrowing the thatched pavilion—how could this kid be so stupid, falling right into their trap?

Henry Ford still didn’t take a stand, his gaze fixed on Edward Howard.