Just as the The Capital was gripped by widespread panic, at the highest point of the palace—the rear hall, which was also the very center of the turmoil—the Mr. Harrison, as usual, was practicing archery beneath the dragon banner before sunset. He only stopped after shooting two full quivers of arrows in succession. The chief eunuch of the Inner Palace, Henry Carter, who had been waiting nearby, hurried forward to flatter and inquire, “Will you be dining with the guards again today?”

“There’s no reason not to, is there?”

The so-called Mr. Harrison, dressed in a red, round-collared archer’s robe, looked to be only in his early twenties, yet was tall and handsome—a true descendant of the Zhao clan. Upon hearing the question, he merely smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned. “Or is there something you need, Chief?”

“What business could I possibly have?” This Mr. Carter, about thirty years old and currently the only chief eunuch of the The Capital, had always been in charge of confidential palace documents—an important position akin to the chief eunuch in later times. He clasped his hands and sighed. “It’s just that Mrs. Parker asked me to come and say she hasn’t seen Mr. Harrison for many days and misses you dearly. I thought…”

The Zhao Mr. Harrison awkwardly smiled as he gripped the hard bow in his hand, but did not reply. Instead, he turned his head away.

“Besides, didn’t everyone say after the injury that they wanted to eat ice cream?” Seeing this, Henry Carter quickly circled to face him again, sleeves folded, and continued, “Today, Mrs. Parker personally cooked and made it for everyone. Why not go over, and also see the imperial heir?”

“Really?”

The young Mr. Harrison was momentarily taken aback, hesitating for a moment. But he soon collected himself and sighed softly. “Better not. Just have the ice cream sent over. I’ll eat it with the guards dining with me today…”

“Mr. Harrison!”

In his anxiety, Henry Carter even dropped the familiar ‘everyone’—a term only he was allowed to use in the The Capital. “That was made by Mrs. Parker herself. How could it be given to the guards? What would that look like? Even you, Mr. Harrison, shouldn’t dine with the guards anymore. If word gets out, the ministers of the outer court will be displeased, saying Mr. Harrison disrespects scholars and favors warriors.”

“After the Jingkang Incident, does the Song dynasty really have any decorum left?” The young Mr. Harrison not only refused to change his mind, but even sneered in public. “If there were even a shred of decorum, would things have come to this? As for those scholars and their discontent, I don’t see them complaining about the Jurchen cavalry, so why are they only dissatisfied with me?”

With that, the Zhao Mr. Harrison ignored him and walked out of the rear hall. Henry Carter was about to follow, but several sword-bearing guards who had been standing by immediately rose and blocked his way.

Henry Carter, rarely so flustered, quickly signaled to a young officer in light armor by the door. The tall, imposing young officer, seeing this, bowed his head slightly and then followed after the imperial Song Mr. Harrison—their nominal sovereign.

As for those sword-bearing guards, they seemed able to stand their ground against Henry Carter, but clearly showed much more respect to this officer. Not only did they not block him, they stepped aside to let him pass. Walking ahead, the Song Mr. Harrison, John Harrison, caught this scene out of the corner of his eye, but his expression did not change at all; he simply continued on calmly.

However, after leaving the hall, John Harrison did not hurry to find anyone to dine with. Instead, he stood on the slope outside the rear hall, gazing around for a long time. Judging that Henry Carter had likely gone to handle confidential documents, he suddenly turned and gave an order to the young officer following him:

“Please, David Young, go fetch Emily Parker’s ice cream for me, and thank her for her trouble.”

The so-called David Young, caught off guard, could only respond in front of everyone and turn to leave, while John Harrison, the Zhao Mr. Harrison, headed alone toward a military camp at the foot of the slope, where the sound of horses never ceased.

That’s right!

It was John Harrison, not Zhao Jiu. The imperial Song Mr. Harrison really had been possessed, just as the rumors said! Mr. Carter and that young officer—none other than the palace attendant Charles Young—these two, one civil and one military, the real powers within the palace, were genuinely concerned for this ‘recently recovered’ Mr. Harrison. Their ‘concern’ was not overstepping at all, but truly commendable loyalty!

If James Harrison’s soul still lingered in some object, he would probably be moved to tears.

Of course, the only problem was that the demon who had possessed the Song Mr. Harrison was not some fox spirit, but an ordinary person who himself felt quite innocent—a mortal from nine hundred years in the future!

This fellow had only gone home to register his residence after graduating from college, and stopped by the Daoist temple for fun. Because he helped an old Daoist rescue a dog from a concrete well shaped like nine dragons, he came to his senses only to find himself the Song Mr. Harrison… Who could he reason with?

The Supreme Lord Laozi?

Would the Supreme Lord Laozi mock him: “Your trouble happened in the Temple of Laozi, what does that have to do with me, the Supreme Lord?”

Honestly, for a transmigrator to become an emperor—especially one who just ascended the throne at twenty-one—if there really was a mastermind behind it, that’s not a bad deal… Sixty years as a peaceful emperor, twenty years to save money, twenty years to invent the steam engine, another twenty to colonize the world, marry a harem, have dozens of children, raise hundreds of cats and dogs, design a zoo—wouldn’t that be great?

Wouldn’t that be wonderful?