The little maid still looked a bit nervous, sitting there with an uneasy expression, and said softly, “Usually, Little Lily serves by Miss’s side. Since the young master is new here, Miss said to let Little Lily attend to the young master for a while.”

To be fair, aside from not being particularly enthusiastic, this nominal wife of his was actually quite good to him—this was something Edward Thompson had to admit.

At present, he still knew almost nothing about this place, and now Little Lily had become his only way to learn about this mountain stronghold.

Perhaps feeling that this young master was not only good-looking but also very approachable, the little maid gradually let down her guard. Thus, from her, Edward Thompson learned even more.

Leaving aside the outside world for now, the place he was currently in was called Liuyue Stronghold.

Generally speaking, if a place is called something-gou (“ravine”) or something-zhai (“stronghold”), it’s definitely not a good place.

When Edward Thompson used to watch movies and TV shows, whenever a mountain stronghold was mentioned, there was always one called Black Wind...

Although Liuyue Stronghold didn’t sound as imposing as Black Wind Stronghold, it was essentially the same in nature. They were all bandits and outlaws—those who liked a rougher style called their place Black Wind Stronghold, while those who preferred something a bit more refined and elegant called it Qingfeng or Liuyue Stronghold, which even sounded a bit cultured.

But the situation in Liuyue Stronghold was a bit different.

It was said that in the early years, when the Jing Kingdom was still in chaos, with warlords dividing the land and the people suffering terribly, an ancestor surnamed Liu rose up, established his own faction, seized the mountain, and became a local king in Green Willow Mountain. He gathered a group of followers, and though they claimed to uphold justice, in reality, they were just bandits and outlaws.

After several decades, a powerful ruler finally unified the Jing Kingdom, ended the chaos, and liberated the entire land, allowing the people to live and prosper in peace.

After the many bandit forces that had risen during the chaos were wiped out by the army, the Liu clan, in order to preserve their bloodline, naturally had to find a new way to survive...

At that point, if they still claimed to be bandits acting for justice, it would have been sheer foolishness.

The extremely wise Liu clan leader at the time cleverly chose to lay low and, in a very short time, completed a magnificent transformation from bandit to law-abiding citizen. They settled in Liuyue Stronghold—some farmed, some wove cloth, some fetched water, some tended gardens—becoming model citizens who followed all the rules and virtues.

As for the former loyal followers, some left, some stayed, and eventually, Liuyue Stronghold took on its current scale.

However, even though the real power in Liuyue Stronghold still rested with the Liu clan, the clan itself had long since fractured and could no longer act as one.

The direct line of the Liu family lost its head early on, and now only Grace Walker and Emily Walker, two sisters, remained. Although Grace Walker was still the stronghold leader in name, the other Liu family branches had long since stopped obeying her and were secretly plotting to seize the direct line’s resources.

If not for Grace Walker’s own tough methods and the loyal old brothers who still supported the direct line, the main branch would have become a mere figurehead long ago.

When the little maid spoke of these things, her cheeks puffed up in anger, her pretty face full of indignation.

By now, Edward Thompson understood that Grace Walker was his nominal wife, and Emily Walker was the devilish girl who had captured him and brought him up the mountain yesterday.

The reason he had been brought up here as the “stronghold husband” was because the direct line had been pressuring Grace Walker to marry. Once she married, all the direct line’s resources would be divided up by the others, wouldn’t they?

So, Edward Thompson became their first “business” in resuming their bandit ways...

No wonder that young man looked at him that way that night... He really had stolen his peach.

No, actually, it was his peach that got picked!

The little maid chattered on as she left, and Edward Thompson looked up at the sky, feeling a bit gloomy inside.

The situation... was not optimistic!

Unconsciously, he had already started to accept his current identity.

Before becoming the king of the bandits and dominating the great mountain roads—before realizing his dream of early retirement and a carefree, comfortable old age—it seemed there was still a long road ahead...

Chapter 8: Scheming to Steal a Chicken

A table, with four people seated on each side.

Opposite Edward Thompson sat his devilish sister-in-law Emily Walker, with the maid Little Lily and his beautiful but untouchable wife Grace Walker on either side.

Around the table, three beauties of varying ages, each more stunning than the last, but Edward Thompson had no heart to appreciate them. He was staring blankly at the bowl of plain noodles in front of him.

Plain noodles... really just plain noodles.

Apart from the white noodles, there wasn’t a hint of any other color in the bowl. Edward Thompson picked up his chopsticks and tasted a small bite—there was no flavor at all, so bland it was almost unbearable...

This was lunch for the four of them.

As someone with a bit of a foodie streak, Edward Thompson had always had high standards for food. Faced with this bowl of “plain noodles,” even though he was quite hungry, he couldn’t muster much appetite.

He glanced at the three people beside him, who were all eating with great relish. The little maid next to him was beaming with happiness, as if simply filling her stomach was something to be truly glad about.