Yvonne Foster's eyelids twitched uncontrollably as he clenched his teeth, struggling to keep his facial expression in check.

To avoid his face twisting too much and causing spasms, which might arouse another wave of suspicion from the petty-minded Young Master.

Thinking of the instructions from the master and madam, Yvonne Foster nodded and bowed, forcing a smile as he said,

"Sir, I see Young Master is in a bad mood. How about we go out for a walk today to clear your mind?"

"Today?" William Grant looked up, glancing at the blazing sun, and recalled that both times he had gone out before, he ended up with nosebleeds and blood in his mouth.

Although it wasn't his own blood, it still left him feeling quite upset.

"Well, how about you, Yvonne Foster, go ask the steward to check the almanac and see if there's anything inauspicious about today?"

"???" Yvonne Foster stared blankly at this little master—check the almanac just to go out?

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go!"

"Yes, yes... I'll go ask right away, Young Master, please wait a moment."

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yvonne Foster came running back.

"Young Master, the steward said that today is suitable for cleaning, housework, worship, and tending to cattle and horses. As for everything else, it's best not to do it."

"...Even cleaning is written in there?"

William Grant looked dumbfounded at Yvonne Foster, whose head was bobbing up and down, and touched his own tender, fair little face.

"Better safe than sorry. Since that's the case, let's just stroll around the mansion today and go out tomorrow."

"Shall I go ask the steward about tomorrow's almanac?"

"......"

Chapter Six: Living Over Two Hundred Years, Yet a Stroke-Stricken Master Master Parker

In a secluded corner of the mansion, there was actually a small Daoist temple.

Inside, a Daoist priest with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, drooling from the corner of his mouth, was lying outside basking in the sun.

Beside him, a servant of the Gao household sat on a small stool, dozing off.

William Grant stood at the courtyard gate, observing this odd pair inside, clicking his tongue in amazement.

From the idle chatter among the household and Yvonne Foster's reports, he had learned the background of this Daoist priest, who was clearly a classic case of stroke and cerebral thrombosis.

It was said that this stricken Daoist, with the Daoist name Master Parker, was the grandson of the Daoist immortal Ethan Parker, and had lived for over two hundred years.

The reason he appeared in the Gao household was because the previous William Grant had seen this old immortal perform all sorts of miraculous Daoist arts.

He begged his father, Richard Grant, saying he wanted to take this old immortal as his master to learn Daoist techniques.

As a result, three months ago, this old immortal officially entered the Gao household as a resident spiritual advisor and William Grant's teacher.

As for why the old immortal ended up like this, Yvonne Foster had something to say: after becoming a resident in the Gao household,

In just a few months, his previously skinny, monkey-like frame underwent drastic changes, and his weight soared.

About a month ago, he suddenly suffered a stroke, and since then, he had become this half-paralyzed, crooked-mouthed, slanted-eyed wretch.

But since he was the master that his own son had formally apprenticed to, Richard Grant ordered the household staff to take good care of him.

"Master, are you alright?..."

William Grant stood in front of the bamboo couch, looking at the Daoist priest who was tilting his head to look at him.

This Master Parker seemed a bit agitated upon seeing William Grant, and with trembling hands, tried hard to reach out.

His mouth made sounds as if full of porridge, completely unintelligible.

Seeing this, William Grant could only give up on trying to communicate with a stroke patient and turned to the servant nearby.

"...Can he speak?"

"No, he can only be like this most of the time."

The honest servant, assigned to care for the patient, replied dutifully.

Looking at Master Parker, lying there completely unable to care for himself, like an old man at death's door,

William Grant couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Although he claimed to be over two hundred years old and boasted of knowing Daoist arts,

He was clearly just an old fraud who had wormed his way into the Gao household, but considering he was still a living being,

Feeding one more mouth wasn't a big deal, and besides, this guy was his nominal master.

William Grant really couldn't bring himself to say the words to just throw this old geezer out.

Fortunately, the man already had a stroke, so the chance of him scamming the family with his glib tongue was now zero.

......

William Grant also knew that the current emperor was fond of Daoism, and anyway, Daoism was all the rage in the Song Dynasty.

As the saying goes, those below follow the example of those above. Since the emperor liked Daoism, the officials naturally had to follow suit.

If the emperor suddenly wanted to chat about Daoist classics with his ministers and you weren't prepared, how could you curry favor?

So, building a small Daoist temple at home, or having one's children apprentice to a Daoist priest, wasn't exactly trendy, but it was quite common among the Song Dynasty's officialdom.

Lost in thought, William Grant finally made his way to the front gate of his mansion.

Looking at the bustling streets, William Grant felt that the weather was perfect today, and it was just the right time to go out for a stroll and clear his mind.

As for whether David Brooks would stubbornly stake out the place with a bunch of Cai family members, that was hard to say.

But the thing is, you can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. You can't just stay cooped up at home forever just because someone might be waiting for you outside, right?