Helen Howard turned the boat and followed the two large vessels as they squeezed into the special civilian wharf between the mouths of the Liangshui River and the Empress Dowager Xiao River. The official lantern at the bow of Old Butler's boat was very useful—civilian boats ahead hurriedly made way, and those who dared not yield were quickly scolded by soldiers on the patrolling official boats and forced to move aside. In this way, the two boats squeezed through the countless sailboats, then quickly dropped their sails, and the sailors used long oars to slowly push them up to the dock. Right on the shore was the southern suburb of Zhangjiawan City. Countless merchants had turned this peninsula, formed by the parallel flow of the Empress Dowager Xiao River and the Liangshui River, into a bustling commercial district, also known as Changdian. In the middle of this commercial area, a main road led north, straight to the Tongyun Bridge over the Empress Dowager Xiao River. At the north end of the Tongyun Bridge was the south gate of Zhangjiawan City, where the official passenger wharf was also located—on both sides of the bridge—but that area was now jammed with boats.

"Zhangwan, head of the thousand-year-old canal, ancient ramparts by the water, a place of many historic sights!"

William Young was showing off.

"Zhangjiawan City was clearly built during the Jiajing reign of Emperor Shizong—where do you get a thousand years from!"

Next to him, Miss Walker looked at him with disdain.

Her elegant name was Emily Walker.

"It's just rhetoric. Li Bai wrote of a waterfall plunging three thousand feet, but the Lushan Waterfall is only a few dozen zhang high—where did three thousand feet come from?"

William Young said.

"Have you been to Lushan?"

Miss Walker tilted her head in confusion.

William Young turned to look around and immediately spotted a scholar nearby holding a folding fan. Without hesitation, he snatched it and, with a flourish, snapped it open...

"Of course!"

He declared proudly.

Then, under the scholar's stunned gaze, he quickly shoved the fan back into his hands. Only then did Miss Walker realize what had happened, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing, her youthful smile blooming radiantly. The scholar, just about to lose his temper, saw her smile and immediately replaced his expression with a warm grin, seizing the chance to say something. But a Wang family armed servant immediately reached out a hand in front of him, while another pointed at the lantern of the Vice Minister of War on the boat.

The scholar backed off.

"But there really is a waterfall in this world that plunges three thousand feet—unfortunately, it's not in the Ming Empire."

William Young said.

"Nonsense! If it's not in the Ming, how would you know about it?"

Miss Walker said with disdain.

"Wang, Wang Wang, do you really think a little girl like you can know everything about this vast world? That waterfall truly isn't in the Ming, but overseas, in a place the red-haired people call America. It falls from a height of three hundred zhang—now that's a real three-thousand-foot drop!"

William Young said.

"What did you just call me?"

Miss Walker said menacingly.

"Uh, isn't your character supposed to be adorably silly?"

William Young said in surprise.

"Throw him in the river!"

Miss Walker said through gritted teeth.

She might not know what "adorably silly" meant, but she certainly understood the word "silly."

Chapter 010: Keep Pretending!

Throwing him in the river was impossible—the Wang family's armed servants couldn't catch William Young anyway.

Old Butler turned a blind eye to this.

He certainly wasn't worried about William Young seducing their young lady. After all, the difference in their social status was enough to block any improper relationship, and the latter probably had the same playful temperament at home—after all, their master was the most unorthodox disciple of a Ming dynasty thinker...

A true heretic.

One could even call him a rebel against the feudal dynasty, and a despiser of Confucian thought.

The Wang family was not likely to be too old-fashioned.

Besides, he was busy.

Charles Howard was fully playing the role of a lackey, quickly hiring sedan chairs and donkey carts at the dock, and even a large handcart. Then all the luggage unloaded from the boat was loaded onto the carts. The maids and old women got on the donkey carts, Old Butler hired a donkey to ride, and Miss Walker sat in the sedan chair. There were still more than forty li from Zhangjiawan to Beijing. They had to go to Tongzhou first, then turn west and cross Baliqiao. If they hurried, they could enter Chaoyang Gate before dark. The Wang family residence in Beijing was in Mingshifang...

The Ming dynasty had a curfew.

Therefore, all cities used the ward system, which was actually a step backward compared to the Song dynasty.

In fact, the Song dynasty also had a curfew.

But in the Song, it started at the third watch, by which time it hardly mattered—anyone still wandering around at that hour was certainly not a law-abiding citizen. And the curfew was lifted at the fifth watch, so the curfew was so short it was almost negligible. But starting from the Yuan dynasty, the curfew returned to the first watch and continued ever since...

Continued until the Xinhai Revolution.

So when you see those period dramas with handsome men and beautiful women strolling the streets at midnight, just have a laugh.

If you dared go out after 8 p.m. without a night pass from the neighborhood head, you'd risk being caught and beaten fifty times. As for night markets, forget about it—except during the Lantern Festival, even Beijing would be silent at night. Likewise, the Wang family had to reach Beijing and enter the ward before the curfew started a little after the first watch. So the two families quickly parted ways. Miss Walker even specially invited Helen Howard to her home. She also glanced once more at her savior, then snorted and got into the sedan chair, hurrying to Tongzhou for lunch under the protection of the armed servants.

After seeing them off, Charles Howard finally started to take care of their own affairs.