"Robert Miller." William Grant repeated twice, once again kneeling and kowtowing, saying, "Thank you, my lord, for bestowing the name!"

Chapter Four: Both Mentor and Friend

William Grant had pledged allegiance to George Washington, and the relationship between the two had grown much closer. William Grant asked, "My lord, what are your plans for the future?"

George Washington did not reply immediately. After a moment of silence, he said quietly, "If the opportunity arises, I will eliminate the traitor Wang Mang and restore the Han dynasty!"

He had never said this to anyone before. In his family, the one who most often shouted 'eliminate the traitor Wang Mang and restore the Han dynasty' was his eldest brother George T..

On the surface, George Washington had never echoed his brother's words, but deep down, restoring the Han dynasty had long been his greatest wish.

Upon hearing this, William Grant looked delighted and said, word by word, "With such great ambition, my lord, Robert Miller will swear to follow you to the death, serving loyally at your side, never abandoning you!"

George Washington smiled. After a while, his eyes sparkled as he asked, "Robert Miller, you dared to attempt to assassinate Wang Mang, so your martial skills must be formidable, right?"

William Grant's old face flushed, and he lowered his head in embarrassment, saying, "I am ashamed." If his skills were truly that great, Wang Mang's head would already be in his hands.

In truth, William Grant was being too modest. Wang Mang was no ordinary man, but the emperor of the day, surrounded by countless guards. Who in the world could get close to Wang Mang?

George Washington patted William Grant's arm and praised with a laugh, "I think you're even more impressive than Jing Ke!"

"Huh?" William Grant didn't catch on, looking at George Washington in confusion.

"Jing Ke died in the Qin King's palace, but you managed to escape alive!"

William Grant's old face reddened, and he said with a wry smile, "My lord, you may not know, we only seized the chance to strike when Wang Mang was inspecting Lantian County." Compared to Jing Ke's infiltration of the Qin palace, it was not the same at all.

"Even so, being able to escape is already impressive!" George Washington asked enthusiastically, "Robert Miller, once you've recovered, would you teach me martial arts?"

William Grant perked up and said earnestly, "If my lord is willing to learn, I will teach you everything I know." After a pause, he asked tentatively, "Has my lord studied martial arts before?"

When George Washington helped him to the small cabin in the mountains, he could tell—even though George Washington looked tall and slender, almost frail, he was actually quite strong, with well-developed muscles.

"I have learned a bit, but only the basics." George Washington had learned some martial arts from his elder brother George T., but he had not practiced much and was far from proficient.

William Grant asked him to demonstrate what he had learned.

George Washington did not hesitate. In the small cabin, he energetically performed a set of boxing techniques taught to him by George T..

After watching, William Grant smiled and said, "I can tell, my lord, you haven't practiced regularly."

Seeing George Washington's embarrassed expression, William Grant continued, "But that's actually good—it will make it easier for me to help you build a solid foundation."

Hearing this, George Washington looked pleased. He walked over to William Grant, sat cross-legged, and while taking out the food from the bamboo basket, said, "Let's eat and chat at the same time."

William Grant replied, "Alright!" Just as he was about to take the millet rice, George Washington handed him the meat stew, saying, "You're injured—eat the meat stew, it will help you recover."

"My lord, you eat it." William Grant pushed the bowl of meat stew back to George Washington.

"You need it more than I do right now." As he spoke, George Washington pushed the meat stew back to William Grant again.

Watching the bowl of meat stew being pushed back and forth between them, William Grant's eyes grew moist. To be honest, he had never been treated with such respect since childhood, not even when he was at the Marquis of Guangqi's residence.

He silently vowed in his heart that in this lifetime, he would follow George Washington as his lord.

After the meal, the two sat in the cabin, chatting about martial arts and current affairs until dusk. As night was falling, George Washington finally took his leave of William Grant and returned home.

Currently, George Washington was living at his uncle James Clark's house. He did not enter through the front door, but came in through the back. He and his younger sister Mary Clark also lived in the back courtyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, the door to the side room opened, and Mary Clark came out, looking at George Washington suspiciously and asking, "Third brother, why are you only just getting back? Where did you go so late?"

Mary Clark was three years younger than George Washington, graceful and charming, with long fluttering eyelashes like little fans, and bright black eyes that sparkled like obsidian.

George Washington was in a good mood, smiled, and casually replied, "I went to visit a friend."

Mary Clark pressed, "Which friend? Do I know them?"

"You don't know them." George Washington couldn't tell his sister about William Grant; if the young girl let it slip, it could bring disaster upon the whole family.

Mary Clark pouted, then suddenly asked, "Did third brother fall for some girl and sneak out at night to meet her?"

George Washington was amused by his sister's words. He walked over to Mary Clark, pushed her into the side room, and said, "Go do your needlework. Don't worry about things that don't concern you, and stop asking so many questions."

Under George Washington's gentle shoving, Mary Clark returned to her room, feeling indignant.

When an older brother finds someone he likes, at first, the younger sister is usually unhappy, feeling as if her brother is being taken away. Mary Clark was at just that age.