Charles Howard was honest. Although he thought to himself that Second Brother really hadn’t been very smart in the past, he couldn’t say it to his face, so he just let himself be fooled. If it had been anyone even a bit shrewder, there’s no way they would have let him change the subject so easily.

“You just tell me, which girls are favored by Grandpa? I’ll try to choose from among them.”

Charles Howard was overjoyed—Second Brother’s willingness to cooperate was the best possible outcome. What he didn’t realize was that Edward Howard had already made up his mind: I’m going to be a free stallion! There’s no way I’m mating with anyone Grandpa picks!

“The main ones are: among the top ten Golden Beams, the fourth daughter of the Yu family, Laura Evans; among the sixteen Golden Brick Foundations, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, Helen Walker; the eldest daughter of the Si family, Julia Scott; and the eldest daughter of the Yang family, Sarah Young.”

Edward Howard wore a sullen expression as he memorized these names, determined not to choose any of them when the time came.

Charles Howard noticed his expression and felt a bit guilty. The gap between these families and the Four Great Pillars, the Hong family, was not small—in fact, if it weren’t for Edward Howard’s notorious reputation, any one of these girls marrying Edward Howard would be considered a stroke of great fortune for their family!

But now, these girls were still the best options.

Charles Howard felt a bit sorry for Second Brother, but this was Grandpa’s arrangement, and he was helpless.

Among these families, some had great potential, some were extremely wealthy, and some had powerful allies. To be fair, Samuel Howard’s arrangements were indeed for Edward Howard’s sake. After all, once Grandpa and Grandma passed away, Edward Howard would still have his wife’s family to rely on.

Suddenly, Edward Howard remembered something and asked in confusion, “The Yang family? Is that the one backing the Four Seas Trading Company?”

Charles Howard glanced at him. “You know about that?”

Edward Howard blushed. Of course he knew—the Four Seas Trading Company was the one whose assets he’d forcibly seized to buy forbidden goods. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of the Sixteen Golden Brick Foundations, and now, to his surprise, one of the main candidates was the Yang family’s daughter.

Charles Howard didn’t hide anything: “Because of the mess you caused, Old Master Yang came to see us in person. I said every good word I could, and only then did Old Master Yang finally tell me that the Four Seas Trading Company was prepared as a dowry for his eldest daughter, Sarah Young! What do you expect me to say? You’ve taken over the girl’s dowry…”

Edward Howard was speechless. “How can this be! Isn’t this just forcing his daughter onto me? What if his daughter is hideous? Wouldn’t that ruin my dream of being a dashing stallion?”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, Big Brother. You keep saying you’ve handled everything for me, but is this what you call handling it? Just adding his daughter to the list of candidates?”

Charles Howard said proudly, “Even though we’re in the wrong here, our Hong family isn’t the type to be forced into marriage. At most, we’ll just give them a chance.”

As he spoke, he noticed Edward Howard looking at him strangely, and his confidence gradually faded. From his initial pride, he became more and more sheepish, and finally blushed. “It’s all trouble you caused!”

Edward Howard: “……”

Suddenly, Charles Howard slapped his forehead. “Oh right, there’s actually one more possible candidate, but… it’s a bit difficult.”

Edward Howard rolled his eyes. “Just say you think she probably wouldn’t be interested in me.”

Charles Howard gave a dry laugh and said, “At this year’s Xiushan Autumn Gathering, it’s said that Lucheng’s number one talented woman, Anna Lee, will also attend. Rumor has it that Anna Lee is not only astonishingly gifted, on par with the greatest scholars of Daxia, but also as beautiful as a flower, known as the number one beauty in the southeast of Daxia.”

Lucheng was the largest city in the southeast of the Daxia Dynasty, with a highly developed economy. Every year, Lucheng’s commercial taxes accounted for more than twenty percent of all commercial taxes in Daxia.

The Li family was the top financial group in Lucheng, with vast assets, but lacked heavyweight officials in the court. As a result, they had been trying for years to expand their business throughout Daxia, but had not succeeded.

Edward Howard thought to himself: This Anna Lee coming to the capital probably has a deeper purpose.

Charles Howard explained everything to Edward Howard, but before leaving, he still couldn’t help but remind him, “Second Brother, you really don’t need to resist so much. Everyone has to get married eventually. With our background, whether you’re a genius or a good-for-nothing, marriage is never really up to us.”

When Charles Howard said this, he sounded a bit desolate. Edward Howard could tell that Big Brother’s own marriage was clearly not a happy one. He sighed sympathetically and nodded. “Don’t worry, Big Brother, I know what I’m doing.”

……

“You told that little brat?” Samuel Howard’s study was quite interesting. On the east side, the bookshelves were filled with all kinds of classics, while on the west side, the shelves were lined with weapons of all kinds.

Behind his desk, to the left, stood an ancient stone stele; to the right, a suit of fine armor.

The large desk was made from simply processed raw wood. Having spent his life in the military, Samuel Howard didn’t care for overly delicate things. He sat upright behind the desk, his face stern and imposing.

Charles Howard replied respectfully, “I’ve already told him. Second Brother didn’t seem too resistant.”

Samuel Howard snorted coldly. “Really?”

Charles Howard gave a wry smile. “How would I dare lie to Grandpa?”

“Haven’t you lied to me enough times for that little brat?”