Cynthia Reed saw that Jason Brooks was handsome, well-mannered, and nothing like the foolish person others described. She liked him in her heart and quickly greeted him with a smile, “Come in and have a seat, I’ll make a couple more dishes for you brothers and warm a pot of wine.”

“Big sister-in-law, there’s no need to go to so much trouble.”

William Harper waved his hand, “Hey! It’s not trouble, it’s what I should do. Come in and have a seat.”

He handed the kite to his wife and asked her, “Where are Lily and Daisy? They should be home from school by now!”

“I heard Lily was naughty and got punished by the teacher to write three hundred characters. I guess Daisy is helping him write them!”

Jason Brooks, standing to the side, found it a bit odd. “Aren’t they in big brother’s school?”

“They’re studying at the family’s elementary school. The ones I teach are older kids, teenagers, so we’re not together. Let’s go inside first!”

The two of them entered the house. Jason Brooks saw that although the tables and chairs in the room were a bit old, everything was spotless and very clean. William Harper had him sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and then sat down himself, smiling as he asked, “Tell me, what have you been up to these past few years?”

Jason Brooks had already thought of what to say, so he smiled, “Big brother, you probably know I’ve been out apprenticing and learning skills. After my master passed away, I stayed in the mountains to continue learning, and later I went out to sea.”

When William Harper heard his brother had gone to sea, he couldn’t help but frown and asked, “So what are your plans now that you’re back? I can talk to grandfather and get you a position, so you can stay with the family.”

Jason Brooks had only been in this empire for half a year and was curious about everything. He didn’t want to tie himself down so soon, so he shook his head, “Let’s talk about it later! I haven’t been back home in so many years, I’ve forgotten many people and places. Let me recall the past first.”

At this, Jason Brooks lowered his voice and asked William, “Fifth uncle said big brother might have trouble, that the playboy is threatening you again. Tell me, what’s going on?”

William Harper took a sip of tea and was about to speak when suddenly two childish voices sounded in the courtyard. A little girl’s voice complained, “Mom, it was brother who got punished by the teacher to write characters. I’m helping him write.”

A little boy hurried to defend himself, “Mom, the teacher used my homework to wipe his butt, then insisted I didn’t do it and punished me to write it three times. It’s the teacher’s fault.”

“Lily!”

Inside, William Harper slapped the table, his face darkening, “How dare you say the teacher is wrong!”

The courtyard instantly fell silent. Jason Brooks, eager to see his niece and nephew, quickly smiled and said, “Big brother, let them come in quickly, I want to see them.”

“All right! I’ll let you off for today, otherwise I’d have to teach this disrespectful boy a lesson.”

“I’ll let you two off today. Come in quickly! Your uncle is here.”

Hearing that their father had forgiven them, the two little ones cheered and ran into the house. When they saw their uncle was so tall and big, they were a little scared and took two steps back.

Jason Brooks saw the two little ones were as cute as carved jade, and liked them very much. He quickly took out two sea pearls, placed them in his palm, and handed them to the siblings with a smile, “These are meeting gifts from your uncle. Aren’t they pretty?”

The two little ones saw the sea pearls were bright and beautiful, and were both tempted. They timidly stepped forward to take them, but William Harper snorted, “Did you forget something?”

Only then did the siblings realize, and together they knelt down and kowtowed three times to Jason Brooks, “Lily, Daisy greet uncle.”

“Hehe! Such good children.”

Jason Brooks quickly pulled his niece and nephew up, hugged them, and put the sea pearls in their hands, smiling, “Do you like them?”

“Mm! We like them.” The two little ones nodded like pecking chicks.

At this moment, Cynthia Reed brought in two dishes and smiled at the siblings, “Daddy bought your kite, it’s in the kitchen.”

The siblings cheered and ran to the kitchen together. Soon they found the kite and shouted impatiently, “Daddy, we want to fly the kite!”

“No!”

Cynthia Reed quickly stopped them, “No, it’s almost time to eat. You can fly it tomorrow.”

“We’ll just fly it for a little while and come right back. Mom, please?”

William Harper smiled and said, “Go ahead! Fly it for a bit, but come right back.”

The siblings cheered, grabbed the kite, and dashed out of the courtyard. Cynthia Reed complained a little to her husband, “See, you agree to everything they want.”

William Harper smiled and waved his hand, “Go warm the wine! I’ll talk with Jason Brooks a bit more.”

After his wife left, William Harper continued the previous topic, speaking slowly, “My life had always been peaceful, but last month I passed the tribute scholar exam. Over eight hundred scholars from the whole county went to Jiangning Prefecture for the provincial exam, and I came in first. Only seven people from the entire Donghai County passed. I brought great honor to the family. Passing the tribute scholar exam means I’m qualified to go to the capital for the metropolitan exam for the jinshi degree. I was planning to go to the capital, but a few months ago, some changes happened in the Donghai County officialdom, which affected my plans.”

“What kind of changes?” Jason Brooks thought of the new Prefect Su—could it be related to him?