“Although that’s true in principle, where’s the way in?” Seeing that Henry Carter was no longer just arguing back, Aunt May gradually stopped crying. “It’s all my fault, really. Back when your grandfather was alive, he never minded my humble origins and took me everywhere with him, so I got to know many titled ladies. But I always felt I couldn’t really talk with them, and didn’t want to go out of my way to socialize. After all this time without contact, now that we need their help, the relationships have grown distant!”

“Those people—just eating a piece of rock candy and they’ll brag about it for three or four days. What’s the point of befriending them!” Not wanting Aunt May to keep blaming herself, Henry Carter joked with a smile.

“They may not have money, but the power in their hands can be turned into money at any time!” Aunt May sighed softly. “Our family does have plenty of money, but if we want to find a few people who can actually speak for us…”

“No rush, no rush, it’ll happen in time!” Henry Carter smiled, pretending to be full of confidence about the future. “Guess who I met today? This person is sure to have a bright future!”

“Other than that good-for-nothing from the Yuwen family, who else could you possibly know!” Just thinking of the idle friends around Henry Carter made Aunt May grit her teeth.

“This time you’re really wrong. I’ve met a proper top-three scholar!” To cheer Aunt May up, Henry Carter had to bring up Scott Turner as a shield. “Little Scholar Scott, do you remember? Before he was posted out of the capital, he once visited our home.” (Note 3)

“Little Scholar Scott?” Just as Henry Carter expected, Aunt May’s face immediately brightened. “He’s back in the capital? Why hasn’t he come to visit? Speaking of those days, you were still young and I was just a woman, so I couldn’t help him much. But at least I pointed him in the right direction. Otherwise, he might have been left holding a pig’s head, not even able to find the temple door to deliver his gift!”

“He just arrived. He said he wanted to come thank you in person for your guidance back then, but I saw he was exhausted from traveling, so I politely declined. I was afraid he’d overthink it, so I arranged to meet him the day after tomorrow at Linfeng Tower to welcome him back. I also invited Walt Whitman and William Harris to join us!” Earlier in the afternoon, Walt Whitman had seemed unimportant, but now, to please his elder, Henry Carter couldn’t wait to mention the two newly befriended talents.

In all of Chang’an, there might be people who didn’t know who the Prefect of Jingzhao was, but it was truly hard to find anyone who didn’t know Walt Whitman. Hearing that Henry Carter was finally willing to befriend some of the most famous talents of the age, instead of just wasting time with cockfights and dog races, Aunt May’s heart was filled with joy. She gently rubbed her eyes and said with a smile, “That’s wonderful. The more you know people with ambition, the more you can look out for each other in the future. We don’t expect them to help with anything major, but who doesn’t have the occasional big or small crisis? When that time comes, you’ll see that all my nagging was for a good reason!”

“Got it—!” Henry Carter replied, drawing out his words. “I know you’re only thinking of my best interests. Tomorrow I’ll go to the West Market to buy books and start studying from scratch. Maybe I’ll even become a top scholar myself, how about that?”

“Smart mouth!” Aunt May spat with a laugh. “I know you’re getting impatient again. Alright, I won’t nag you anymore. It’s getting late, you should get some rest!”

With that, she stood up and left with a smile, genuinely happy that Henry Carter understood the importance of ambition, and her steps were noticeably lighter than before dinner.

Note 1: Five courtyards deep, meaning five successive courtyards arranged longitudinally.

Note 2: Yongchang and Tianshou were era names of Empress Wu Zetian. Jingyun was the era name of Emperor Ruizong’s second reign.

Note 3: The “top three scholars” refers to the top three in the imperial examination. The title “Tanhua” (Third Place) originated in the Tang Dynasty. Historical records state: “At the first banquet for new scholars in the Apricot Garden, it was called the Tanhua Banquet. Two young men were chosen as Tanhua envoys to tour famous gardens. If others picked flowers first, the envoys were punished.”

Chapter One: The Sound of Autumn (Part Three)

After finally seeing Aunt May off, Henry Carter also felt a bit tired. He called in the maid who had been waiting at the door, ordered her to clear away the leftover dishes, and then strolled back to his bedroom to rest.

Although he lost his birth mother at a young age, Henry Carter was never mistreated by Aunt May in daily life. He enjoyed every privilege a legitimate son of a wealthy family should have, not lacking in the slightest. Even the personal maid Violet had attended to his daily needs since he was eight, and when her master turned fourteen, the teaching nanny took her aside for private instruction. When she returned, blushing furiously, she still mustered the courage to explore, hand in hand with Henry Carter, all the things a man should learn as his first lessons.

After more than three years, master and servant couldn’t be called inseparable, but they were so familiar with each other that they could sense even the slightest change in the other. Today, Henry Carter had been holding back a surge of restless energy, but the moment he embraced Violet, the enchanting image of Lady Guo involuntarily appeared before his eyes: her perfect figure, towering cloud-like hair, dimples accentuating her cheeks, a striking and elegant beauty. Yet Violet, having received orthodox training since childhood, could not produce those soft, melting sounds. So his interest faded, and after a perfunctory encounter, he simply turned over and went to sleep.

Violet slowly got up, put on her clothes, called the little maid Hazel who was cleaning in the outer room to bring warm water, carefully wiped a certain part of Henry Carter’s body, then handed the water to Hazel to take away, and sat in front of the dressing table, staring blankly into the bronze mirror.