These two were a bit older than James Bolton. One was named Edward Smith, the eldest, who looked honest and sincere. The other was Henry Cooper, a bit younger, whose face was pale at the moment as he busied himself with the horse tack, head down.

　　As soon as James Bolton came out, Edward Smith immediately stepped forward and said, “Brother, are you feeling better? There’s no time to lose, we must set out at once. The longer we wait, the more likely something will go wrong. The news from the palace is not good. For now, they’re only holding your foster father accountable, but there’s no guarantee they won’t come after you as well.”

　　In this era, reason didn’t matter—disasters often befell entire families.

　　That was why Charles Bolton in prison insisted his two adopted sons take James Bolton and leave the city immediately.

　　James Bolton thought for a moment, then said, “I want to go to the prison and see my father.”

　　“You can’t see him anymore.” Henry Cooper, who was a bit hot-tempered, couldn’t help but interject, “I heard the Eastern Depot has already reported the case to His Majesty. The emperor is furious that the secret police have repeatedly failed to track down William Carter. Now the Eastern Depot has decided to pin the blame on our foster father—he’s become a criminal wanted by the throne. You’d better leave as soon as possible.”

　　“In that case…” James Bolton thought for a moment and said, “What if we could find out William Carter’s whereabouts? No… not just find out, but actually capture William Carter?”

　　“……”

　　The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

　　Edward Smith and Henry Cooper exchanged glances.

　　Then Edward Smith stomped his foot in anger. “Brother, there are some things you just shouldn’t say. You used to fool around at home all the time, making our foster father the laughingstock of the capital, but that was one thing. You were young, and even if you embarrassed yourself… even if you made a fool of yourself, things could still be fixed. But now the situation is dire! What our foster father worries about most is you. If you don’t leave, he won’t be able to rest in peace, even in death.”

　　Edward Smith saw himself as the eldest brother now, and as such, he had to act like a father and give James Bolton a stern talking-to.

　　“That’s right,” Henry Cooper chimed in. “This is no time for jokes. That William Carter has run rampant in Northern Zhili for years, killing countless soldiers. It’s said he’s gathered thousands of followers and acts like a king in his own right. Our foster father hasn’t even been able to find out where William Carter is, let alone bring him to justice.”

　　James Bolton thought to himself, Damn, I just arrived in this world and things couldn’t be worse. The son of a criminal, with this stigma, broke and penniless—am I supposed to spend my whole life groveling?

　　William Carter… could this William Carter be the one with the hidden treasure?

　　Seeing his two sworn brothers getting anxious, James Bolton suddenly thought of something and said, “Then I’ll go to the Marquis of Nanhe’s residence.”

　　“What?” Edward Smith was a bit confused. “What for?”

　　“I’ll ask again if the Marquis’s family needs a live-in son-in-law. Last time, he kicked me out, saying that even if every man in the world died, he wouldn’t pick me. But I think, when he said that, he still had some doubts. I think I can try again—maybe there’s still hope.”

　　Edward Smith and Henry Cooper both looked half sick with embarrassment.

　　What a tragedy!

　　Throwing yourself at someone to be their son-in-law, getting kicked out once, and now wanting to go back—have you no shame?

　　Edward Smith was so angry he was speechless, unable to utter a word.

　　Seeing the timing was right, James Bolton added, “Once I become the son-in-law, with the Marquis of Nanhe’s help, maybe our family can be saved.”

　　Henry Cooper was furious. He grabbed James Bolton by the collar. “James Bolton, have a little self-respect! Our foster father’s body isn’t even cold yet—no, wait, ptooey, he’s not even dead yet!”

　　James Bolton stood firm, unmoving, showing a remarkable calm in the face of humiliation.

　　After all, he’d worked in real estate—at this point, do I care about face? If I cared about face, how would I get anything done?

　　Of course, he didn’t really intend to become a son-in-law.

　　Seeing the two of them so anxious and angry, James Bolton finally said slowly, “If you don’t want me to go to the Marquis of Nanhe’s, then from now on, you have to listen to me. We’ll go catch William Carter together. If you don’t agree, not only will I refuse to leave the city with you, I’ll go straight to the Marquis!”

　　Strangely enough, James Bolton had expected his two sworn brothers to be shocked by his behavior.

　　But to his surprise, after their anger faded, both of them just looked numb.

　　What’s going on?

　　Didn’t they find anything odd about this?

　　Was the original owner of this body always this shameless?

　　No way.

　 Even more shameless than I imagined?

　　Edward Smith now laughed in exasperation. “Fine, fine, you keep saying you want to catch William Carter. Then tell me, where is William Carter?”

　　“I know.” At the mention of William Carter, James Bolton gritted his teeth. He said, “It’s a secret. You can’t tell anyone.”

　　Edward Smith: “……”

　　James Bolton continued, “But just the three of us probably isn’t enough. I think we need to recruit some more people. Both of you work in the guards—can you find a way to recruit some strong and able men?”