William Carter laughed, revealing his white teeth. “I am afraid, and I do want to survive, but I don’t want to be someone’s dog.”

“To want to live is not wrong, but if you surrender to the enemy just to survive, and even lead the way for them, that’s the behavior of a beast!!”

“So what do you want to do? Give up your status as a member of the imperial clan? Run away? Go to Bashu? Go to Eastern Wu? Go to the frontier?”

Andrew Young’s face also showed anger.

“Do you really think William Smith is just for show? You’re in Yuancheng—where could you possibly run? Do you think if you stop being emperor, William Smith will just ignore you?”

“With his personality, unless you follow my advice and show goodwill by surrendering, if you refuse again, there’s a twenty percent chance he’ll imprison you for life!”

“And there’s an eighty percent chance he’ll just send someone to kill you, to eliminate future trouble!”

As Andrew Young spoke, he slowly stood up, picked up the wine in front of him, and said resentfully, “Life and death, you choose for yourself! I’ve already done all I can!”

“That scoundrel Guo Ze will get us all killed sooner or later!”

“He’s always talking about the world, the people, sages, morality… The Han dynasty has long since perished!”

Andrew Young cursed in a low voice, leaving the study without looking back.

Only William Carter was left in the room.

He raised his head and let out a long sigh.

Yes, the Han dynasty was already gone.

The idealism of the Han had long been killed by cruel reality, and in the end, became cold corpses like Andrew Young.

William Carter had originally wanted to shed his imperial identity, hide his name, and escape to another place.

But now it seemed, even without the Sima family taking action, just the level of vigilance Cao Wei had toward the imperial clan meant that even if you were demoted to a commoner, you would never be allowed freedom.

Not to mention, now he was facing William Smith.

Even if, a year later, William Smith died, there would still be Arthur Smith.

Arthur Smith might not be as capable as his elder brother, but he was by no means mediocre. The first three generations of the Sima family were not easy to deal with.

He himself, a Cao Wei prince, at the heart of the empire—was it realistic to think he could escape the court’s control and run away??

He wouldn’t get ten miles before the Cao Wei cavalry hunted him down, leaving him with no burial place.

But if he stayed emperor, wouldn’t that also mean death?

Is being a dog the only way to survive??

“Bang, bang, bang.”

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting William Carter’s thoughts.

“Master? Someone has come to visit!”

It was James Lee’s voice outside the door.

William Carter got up and opened the door.

He saw James Lee grinning at him, with two people standing beside him.

One old, one young.

The old man was the one who had previously sought help from William Carter, and the child beside him was his grandson.

A smile appeared on William Carter’s face. “Ah, it’s you, sir. Please, come inside.”

The old man hurriedly shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. I am a lowly person, I really don’t dare enter.”

“It’s fine, look, even James Lee comes in here all the time!”

James Lee scratched his head, not feeling slighted at all, but instead grinned along.

William Carter led the two into the inner room. As soon as they sat down, the old man quickly got up, pulled his grandson with him, and knelt to William Carter in a grand gesture of respect.

“Please, get up! Get up!”

“I really can’t accept such a great courtesy from you, elder!”

William Carter hurriedly helped them up.

The old man was very happy. “Lord Cao, this morning the county sent people to publicly clear my son’s name and announced Shuqu’s crimes. This is all thanks to you. I am truly grateful—your great kindness, I can never repay!”

“No need to thank me.”

“But you’ve lost your son, and now you have this little grandson to care for. How will you live from now on?”

The old man’s eyes were bright as he confidently said, “Lord Cao, you needn’t worry. I know some carpentry. Though I can’t farm, I have the skills to make a living. The two of us don’t eat much. My grandson may be young, but he’s very well-behaved. In a little while, he’ll be able to help me with work…”

At this moment, the old man was full of spirit, nothing like the numb, dazed figure he’d been in front of the county office.

William Carter was a bit surprised. “You’re quite optimistic. A few days ago, I was still a bit worried…”

“Haha, I know, Lord Cao, you were afraid I’d take my own life, weren’t you?”

“I still have my grandson to care for—how could I talk lightly of life and death?”

“Besides, my son wasn’t buried with a tarnished name. I’m already content. Compared to others, I’m much better off.”

“Ever since you moved to Yuancheng, few have dared to bully us anymore. All the people of Yuancheng are grateful for your kindness.”

William Carter said, “The officials in Yuancheng are truly hateful. Not a single one stands up for the people. I’ve heard that in the past, there were quite a few good officials here…”

“Hahaha…”

The old man laughed. “I’ve lived here for decades, but I’ve never seen any good officials. When have these people ever cared about us commoners?”

“In their eyes, the people are probably all like Shuqu. We have no land, no houses, so we’re just called vagrants. Even if we suffer the greatest injustice, no one stands up for us. You’re the first!”