William Harper took a sip of tea and continued, “The previous governor was transferred away, taking two trusted stewards with him. I heard that during this time, the officials of Donghai Commandery have been openly and secretly fighting over the selection of replacements for these two steward positions. The position of Judicial Steward is already in Sima Zhao’s pocket—no one can compete with him. But the other, the Household Steward, is a different story. Mr. Shaw, Deputy Harper, and Sheriff Bolton have all been competing behind the scenes. In the end, the three of them reached a compromise: the Household Steward would be recruited from among the six great families of Donghai, with each family recommending one candidate. Our Huangfu family can also recommend someone. Grandfather wants me to go, but Second Uncle wants his own son to go—that wastrel you just saw. Second Uncle is the heir to the clan leader, and we can’t afford to offend him, so I can only give up. I’ll just go to the capital to take the provincial exam.”

  “Jason Brooks, you have to talk to your big brother!”

  Cynthia Reed came in carrying a pot of wine and said to Jason Brooks, “I’ve calculated for your big brother: the monthly salary for the Household Steward is ten taels of silver, five times what he earns now, not to mention the private perks. And the status is far above that of a poor schoolteacher. If he goes to the capital for the exams, there’s no guarantee he’ll pass, and by then this great opportunity will be gone. Tell me, what is he thinking?”

  “Women don’t understand these things.”

  William Harper rebuked his wife with displeasure, but Jason Brooks quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over. “I know big brother just doesn’t want to offend Second Uncle. But this is only a nomination, not an official appointment. Even if that wastrel goes, he might not be chosen. It would be better to let big brother try.”

  “Exactly! William, listen to your brother—he’s right. There’s only one chance. You’re a tribute scholar; it’s only natural for you to become an official in the commandery office. And what about him? He can’t even pass the county exam. Why should they give it to him?”

  “Sigh! It’s not that I don’t want to. Forget it, let’s not talk about this for now. We’ll discuss it later.”

  William Harper sighed. He knew that, in truth, the higher officials just wanted to use this as an opportunity to extract money from the six great families. How could Second Uncle possibly pay that sum for him?

  ……

  The Second Uncle that Jason Brooks and his brother were talking about was named Alex Harper, the actual power holder of the Donghai Huangfu clan. He was the legitimate son of the main wife, and according to family rules, he would inherit the position of clan leader in the future. In fact, three years ago, his father—the current clan leader—had a stroke and was bedridden. Except for not officially handing over the title, almost all other powers had already been given to him.

  But starting from the beginning of this year, as his father’s health gradually improved, he took back most of the family’s power, which left Alex Harper secretly dissatisfied but helpless. A few days ago, their family’s backer, Charles Harper, sent someone with a message: he had secured a nomination for the Household Steward for the Huangfu family. The Six Steward positions are the preparatory track for entering officialdom, especially the Household Steward, who can usually be promoted to Registrar of the Ninth Rank after a year or two—a true official position. If his son could be chosen, perhaps he could embark on an official career from then on.

  Charles Harper is the Biejia of Donghai Commandery. The Biejia doesn’t have much real power; it’s more of a symbolic post, similar to a chairman of the political consultative conference in later times. His noble title is also Duke of Chuyang County, so people in Donghai Commandery call him Lord Harper. He is also the patron of the Donghai Huangfu clan.

  Alex Harper certainly knew that the six great families were really just competing in terms of wealth for this Household Steward position. The Huangfu family had the means, and with Charles Harper as their backer, they might just win. But his father wanted his elder brother’s son, William, to be the candidate, not his own son. This made Alex Harper very unhappy.

  Alex Harper was not yet fifty, tall and thin, with a shrewd and capable appearance. He had two sons: the elder, Jasper, was an official elsewhere; the younger, Jade, lived with him. Both sons were born to his first wife and were already married. After his first wife passed away, Alex Harper married a young and beautiful woman as his second wife.

  The whole family lived in a large private compound covering about five mu, with more than twenty rooms and a rear garden. Besides the family, there were over a dozen servants and maids attending them.

  At this moment, Alex Harper was sitting in the main hall, patiently listening to his second daughter-in-law’s complaints. The second daughter-in-law’s surname was Parker, the legitimate daughter of a prominent family in Huaiyang County, a perfect match for their family. She had married his second son, Jade, just a year ago, but life had been anything but peaceful. The reason was that Jade had a bad habit of frequenting brothels and squandering money. To him, the family’s wealth was only for spending, never earning, so the household staff sarcastically nicknamed him “Golden-Eyed Pixiu.”

  But starting this year, after his father regained control of the family, Alex Harper cut off his son’s financial resources to discipline him. Yet this month, Jade became infatuated with Chuyu Lian, the top courtesan at the Ruyi Brothel, and spent lavishly on her for gifts and favors. With no money, he began stealing his wife’s private jewelry. Yesterday, his wife finally discovered this. After failing to persuade her husband, she came to her father-in-law in tears.

  “The gold and silver jewelry I brought as dowry is worth at least five thousand taels of silver, but in just one month, he’s stolen it all. He admitted himself that he gave it all to that prostitute. I had hoped to save it for my own child, but now it’s all gone. How can I explain this to my parents? Please, Father-in-law, help me!”