These charges must be cleared; otherwise, even if Ethan Grant were to come back to life, endless troubles would surely follow.

Ethan Grant also knew that if he wanted to make his way in the Eastern Kingdom in the future, he couldn’t carry these charges on his back—otherwise, trouble would follow him wherever he went.

“Father, there’s no rush to clear my name. Right now, the Dongfang family is in a fit of rage. In a few days, once they’ve calmed down a bit, it won’t be too late to go. I’ve already been caned by him once; surely he wouldn’t risk the king’s reputation by dragging me out for another beating, would he?”

When it came to dealing with the current situation, Ethan Grant had plenty of options.

But Ethan Grant wasn’t in a hurry; he needed time to adapt to this identity, and also time to get used to this body.

Logan Grant was just about to say something when his ears twitched slightly. He whispered, “Chen’er, lie down—someone’s coming.”

Ethan Grant was helpless; his resurrection had been far too sudden. If someone saw him, it would be earth-shattering news. His father’s words clearly meant he wanted him to keep playing dead.

Fine, with this coffin as cover, playing dead was about the easiest thing in the world.

“Brother Chen, you died so unjustly.” The footsteps were still far away, but the wailing voice was incredibly penetrating.

Along with the wailing, the thudding footsteps rolled closer and closer.

Rolled, indeed.

The person coming—calling him a person was generous; he was more like a ball of meat. This fat guy was almost as wide as he was tall. His whole body formed a perfect arc, making him a plump, round ball of flesh.

As for his size, the fat guy had never been ashamed—on the contrary, he was proud of it. He once boasted that among the 108 heirs of the feudal lords, he might not be the most loyal or the most talented, but when it came to sheer tonnage, no one could beat him.

For someone to grow to this size was already quite a feat, truly unique. But his father had given him an even more unusual name: Gavin Reed—a name that sounded extremely feminine.

Behind the fat guy were two other youths about the same age, each with a sorrowful expression, clearly here to pay their respects to Ethan Grant.

The fat guy rushed to the coffin, taking the lead. With his size and bulk, once he squeezed in, the others could barely get close and had to stand behind.

While wiping away tears, the fat guy kept pulling things out from his clothes, tossing them into the copper basin where paper money was burning.

“Brother Chen, this is your favorite illustrated edition of ‘The Carnal Prayer Mat.’ I used to keep it to myself and never lent it to you. Now that you’re gone, I’ve lost my kindred spirit—what’s the point of keeping this? I’ll burn it for you, so you can read it down below. Remember, don’t be stingy like me—sharing is the way to go.”

“And here’s a banknote for ten thousand taels. Last time, I didn’t keep my lower half in check and let the little head command the big one, and things got out of hand. Who knew that girl would get pregnant? If my old man had found out, he would’ve beaten me to death on the spot. In the end, it was you, Brother Chen, who paid ten thousand taels to settle it for me. I never got the chance to pay you back…”

The fat guy was sobbing and sniffling, growing more and more heartbroken as he cried. After burning the offerings, he even lay on the ground, pounding the floor in grief.

Ethan Grant lay quietly in the coffin, perfectly at ease, saying nothing. He also wanted to take this chance to observe how his sworn brothers behaved.

There was no doubt that the fat guy, Gavin Reed, was the most loyal and devoted of them all.

“Brother Chen, I’m not very capable. But that old man Dongfang Lu had you beaten to death. I swear here, if I ever inherit my father’s title of Marquis of Gold Mountain, I will never, for the rest of my life, send a single soldier or horse to serve the Dongfang family.”

At this, the fat guy turned and glared at the others, shouting, “You guys—are you really Brother Chen’s sworn brothers? Do you treat him as a brother? If so, come here and swear before his spirit!”

A burly, square-faced youth behind the fat guy called out, “Fatty, you think you’re the only loyal one? Am I, heir to the Marquis of Tiger Hill, not as good as you?”

With that, the youth rushed to the altar. “Brother Chen, I, Huqiu Yue, also swear: if I ever inherit the title of Marquis of Tiger Hill, I will never, for the rest of my life, send a single soldier or horse to serve the Dongfang family!”

As soon as these two swore, the last youth in brocade clothes seemed at a loss for what to do.

“Henry Clark, are you still Brother Chen’s brother or not?” The fat guy, seeing the brocade-clad youth hesitate, grew angry.

“Have you forgotten when you first arrived in the capital and were bullied by Yan Yiming, the son of the Marquis of Yanmen? Wasn’t it Brother Chen who stood up for you?”

“And last time, when you failed your spirit herb cultivation assignment, wasn’t it Brother Chen who gave you his extra share to help you out? Do you know, because he gave you that share, his own excellent grade was marked down to a pass?”

The fat guy grew angrier as he spoke, almost leaping up to grab and shake the brocade-clad youth.

With every story Gavin Reed told, the memories of Ethan Grant lying in the coffin grew richer. Gradually, he fully merged the people in his memories with those before him.

Just as Gavin Reed was getting tangled up, the steward of the marquis’s residence hurried in from outside. “My lord, His Majesty the King has arrived with some ministers and feudal lords, saying they’ve come to pay their respects to the young marquis.”