But never mind, Father is doing this for the sake of the family, as the saying goes: when the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams are crooked.

With a muddle-headed emperor sitting above, and a court full of treacherous officials, what more can you expect?

I’m still just a kid, not even fully grown, so all I can do is take care of my own little family first.

Am I supposed to wrap my head in white cloth, raise the rebel banner, and shout for purging the emperor’s side at the top of Bianliang’s city walls?

If I didn’t end up riddled with arrows from the Song dynasty’s triple crossbows, with my head hanging next to Song Jiang’s on the city gate to dry in the wind for the New Year, that would be a miracle.

For now, it’s better to focus on finding a way to solve Father’s troubles before thinking about anything else.

Looking at Father, and squeezing that ball with such a great feel, William Grant’s eyes rolled with an idea.

“Yvonne Foster, go and fetch a few wooden boards about the size of door panels, and bring over some long benches as well.”

Hearing these words from his own son, Richard Grant looked completely baffled, but didn’t stop Yvonne Foster and the servants from moving things. He quietly leaned toward William Grant, who was still playing with the ball, and asked in a low voice,

“William, what do you want those things for? Aren’t we going to play ball?”

“That’s right, we’re going to play ball. I’ve thought of a new way to play. You’ll see when you try it, Father.”

Seeing William Grant’s sweet and clever little face, Richard Grant couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his heart.

This child is still so obedient and filial, even coming up with ideas for his father. As a father, how could I refuse such a thoughtful gesture?

……

A table about the size of a ping-pong table, with a rope net in the middle, and one or two people on each side can happily play a game.

You’re allowed to touch the ball up to three times before you must hit it over the net—the rules are a mix of ping-pong and soccer.

The rules are very simple, but the playability and entertainment value are excellent.

Richard Grant, the number one ball player in Song dynasty with a high “ball IQ,” quickly understood the rules of this game.

He started playing with the house servants, the two of them going back and forth on the makeshift wooden table, having a blast.

The other servants of the Gao household watched from the side, cheering nonstop.

Every man in the Gao household could play ball, and quite a few of the servants were actually very skilled.

At least in William Grant’s eyes, they were in no way inferior to the professional players of the top five leagues in later generations.

And his own father, Richard Grant, truly lived up to his reputation as the number one ball player in Song—winning game after game, with his footwork and posture making William Grant’s eyes light up in admiration.

Now that’s what a professional player should look like! If Father were born a thousand years later, if he wasn’t a king of football, he’d at least be a superstar—at the orange tier, no less.

After playing for a long time, Richard Grant finally wiped the sweat from his brow, still unsatisfied, and happily patted William Grant on the shoulder.

“Good, good, good! Truly the qilin child of the Gao family. You actually came up with such a novel and clever idea to help your father.”

“This way of playing is unique, but very easy to pick up.”

Seeing his father beaming with joy, his face flushed and radiant from playing, William Grant also breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything has to start simple—first, show Father an easy and fun little game to open his eyes.

Once he’s hooked and gets bored of it, I’ll introduce something new. After all, I have plenty of ball games and methods in my head.

Harris watched quietly and gently as her husband, now free of worries, chatted and laughed with their son William Grant, and she too felt relieved.

William is so sensible and well-behaved, even coming up with new things to make his father happy. How could such a considerate child possibly bully David Brooks, who’s two years older than him?

Clearly, it was David Brooks who was bullying others, forcing William to fight back.

That David Brooks has always had a bad reputation, only getting by because he has a powerful father, Prime Minister Brooks, backing him.

Never mind, as long as my husband can be free of worries, that’s enough. Maybe in a few days, His Majesty’s anger will subside, and he’ll summon my husband back to court…

The new ball game made Richard Grant, the number one ball player in Song, overjoyed.

After a warm exchange with his son, he threw himself into practice, completely absorbed.

It looked like he wouldn’t stop until he’d mastered every trick of this table ball game.

……

Outside the Gao residence, a sturdy man with a saber arrived. He stood at the gate and whispered a few words to the gatekeeper.

The servant immediately dashed off, and before long, arrived at young master William Grant’s courtyard.

“Young master, His Highness Prince Yan has sent someone to invite you for a meeting.”

“His Highness Prince Yan…” William Grant looked blankly at the servant, then turned to his confidant Yvonne Foster.

“Do I know this Prince Yan?”

Yvonne Foster shook his head in confusion. “I’m not sure, maybe you do…”

“Looking for me?” William Grant scratched his chin, unable to figure out what this empty-titled prince wanted with him.

Does he want to hold a talent contest? He should be looking for my father, not me—I’m just a kid.

Seeing Yvonne Foster’s clueless expression, the weary William Grant stood up. Fine, fine, I’ll just go see for myself what’s going on.

“Hey, Yvonne Foster, what are you standing there for? Call a few more people. Let’s go and have a look.”