Grace Turner rushed forward, sobbing, but when she looked closely, the cry in her mouth abruptly stopped.

She stared in astonishment for a moment, then exclaimed, “This isn’t my son.”

“Isn’t this the young master of the Du family?”

The two Wei family servants looked at each other in confusion.

“How could this not be the Du family’s young master? When we found him…”

Suddenly, there was another commotion outside the door.

William Carter hurried back, calling for a servant to lay the boy on his back down.

“Quick, lay him down and pinch his philtrum.”

This time, the boy brought back quickly regained consciousness and sat up from the corridor.

He was fifteen this year, and just like Grace Turner, he had a big round face, a flat nose, and small eyes. Though not exactly ugly, he had a timid and cowering demeanor.

At this moment, he seemed to have just awakened from a nightmare, trembling all over, still muttering something under his breath.

“My son?” Grace Turner pushed others aside, looked closely, and wailed, “This is my son!”

“Wulang, are you alright?”

“……”

At the back of the crowd, a servant in blue poked his head out, slapped his forehead in frustration.

“Sigh, this ugly one is Edward Brooks.”

The Wei family steward quickly pulled this careless fellow aside, apologized to Grace Turner, and led his people out of the Du family’s front yard.

“Can’t you watch your mouth? Did you have to say it right in front of them?”

“Uncle, I carried that handsome one all the way from Pingkang Lane.”

“If you don’t even know who it is, who can you blame? Why didn’t you ask William Carter to identify him first?”

“Well, wasn’t it just to… get a bigger reward?”

“Honestly, the Du family’s lady didn’t give a single coin as a reward.”

“So stingy.”

As they spoke, they stopped walking.

In the alley, there was a corpse wrapped in a rush mat, blood slowly seeping out and staining the snow a deep red.

“Someone really died?”

“It was Edward Brooks’s little servant, I heard his name was Arthur Stone, beaten to death by David Grant. That’s why Edward Brooks fainted from fright.”

The servant in blue whispered, sighing with emotion.

They were all low-born private servants, so it was only natural to feel a pang of sorrow at another’s misfortune…

……

In the study, Henry Brooks held a fish-shaped tally, gently rubbing it with his fingers.

Kneeling before him, Edward Brooks was sobbing uncontrollably.

“I kept saying ‘I was wrong,’ but Samuel Grant just wouldn’t let them stop. I was pinned to the ground, I didn’t know what to do to make him stop, Arthur Stone… Arthur Stone… was beaten…”

At this point, Edward Brooks choked up, almost unable to breathe.

Henry Brooks sighed repeatedly, then asked, “What else did David Grant say?”

“He asked me, ‘Can you swallow this humiliation?’ Father, can we ask Second Sister to seek justice for Arthur Stone?”

“Nonsense!” Henry Brooks slammed the table and shouted, “Isn’t the trouble you’ve caused the Du family enough?”

Edward Brooks was startled, his lips trembling, but he still looked up at Henry Brooks, his eyes full of pleading.

Grace Turner couldn’t bear to see her son like this, wiped her tears and said, “My lord, Wulang has been bullied!”

“Enough. Did David Grant injure Wulang? If you go to the Jingzhao Prefecture to accuse him of beating a servant to death, he’ll get a hundred strokes and pay fifty thousand coins—would that satisfy you? Get out.”

“My lord.” Grace Turner stomped her feet in grievance.

Edward Brooks wept bitterly, his lips trembling, and said, “Father, Arthur Stone has been with me since I was little…”

Henry Brooks sighed, closed his eyes, and instructed, “William Carter, bury Arthur Stone with the rites of a commoner, to honor the bond between master and servant, and the Du family’s sense of righteousness.”

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s all, everyone go.” Henry Brooks pointed at Edward Brooks and scolded, “From today, you are grounded at home. From now on, you are not to associate with Brian Clark again!”

“Brother-in-law…”

“Don’t concern yourself with that troublemaker.”

Grace Turner wouldn’t let Edward Brooks speak further, pulling him up and helping him out.

As they left the study, she muttered a quiet complaint.

“Before marriage, I was a lady from a noble family, and now I have to suffer such indignities in the Du household.”

Outside the corridor, light snow was still falling. The courtyard had quieted down, and the servants had all returned to their duties.

William Carter came over and said in a low voice, “I’ll go make arrangements for Arthur Stone’s funeral now. A three-foot banner, nine sets of burial goods—what does Madam think?”

“Now you know to ask me?” Grace Turner knew the steward was just asking for money, so she said, “Ask the master.”

“The master doesn’t handle such affairs,” William Carter replied, feeling quite awkward.

Edward Brooks tugged at Grace Turner’s sleeve and cried, “Mother, please give Arthur Stone a proper burial.”

“A mere titular official, supporting such a big ancestral home, still has to take care of things for your two brothers, I…”

Grace Turner grumbled, but seeing her son’s grief, she finally gritted her teeth and agreed, “The dead take precedence. Do it, take the money from the account.”

“Yes. One more thing—this afternoon, The Son-in-law Clark said he was going to find a friend to help. Should we send someone to let him know that Wulang has been found?”

“He really thinks he has a wide circle of friends.” Grace Turner cursed under her breath and waved for the steward to handle it as he saw fit.

She couldn’t be bothered with that eldest son-in-law.

“Caiyun, go to Xuandu Temple and invite a Daoist master to perform a ritual to exorcise evil for Wulang.”

Edward Brooks was still choking with sobs. “Mother, I don’t need an exorcism.”

“Look at you, so absent-minded.” Grace Turner patted Edward Brooks’s shoulder. “Just do it, and have the master help Arthur Stone cross the bridge as well.”

“All right then.”