Chapter One: One Hundred Days Old

The hundredth day... one hundred days. Born on the night of the seventh day of the fifth month, today is August sixteenth—exactly 'one hundred days old.'

Silently counting the days in his heart, Brian Carter lay in the wooden tub, laughing with all four limbs in the air.

In his previous life, a sudden upheaval cut short a promising future, but Brian Carter never dreamed that he would actually transmigrate to an ancient era not found in any official history, his soul attaching to a newborn baby. Brian Carter had already 'arrived' for more than three months, still unable to speak or walk, but he could hear clearly and see everything. This family’s surname was Fu, and above him were three older brothers—a truly wealthy and powerful household!

The mansion was adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, the garden had clear streams and artificial hills, strong guards were always stationed at the gate, and household soldiers patrolled inside... and that was far from all. On the very next morning after his 'birth,' an imperial edict arrived, conferring some sort of title upon him.

He became an imperial appointee before he could even speak. Brian Carter certainly understood what such treatment meant: in this life, his father was a high-ranking minister close to the emperor.

Just as he expected, Lord Foster held the post of Prime Minister of the Great Yan Kingdom, commanding all officials. In Brian Carter's words from his previous life, he had been reborn into the family of the 'Premier.' Born into such a powerful household, what worries could he possibly have? Brian Carter could already see a splendid life as a young master beckoning to him.

Right now, he was in a wooden tub, being carefully bathed by a wet nurse and two maids. The girls’ fingertips and palms gently scrubbed his body, bringing an indescribable ticklishness and comfort. Brian Carter flailed his arms and legs, splashing water everywhere. Although it was already Mid-Autumn, the southern region where Zoucheng was located was still very hot. The maids wore embroidered silk skirts, which became translucent when wet... In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, nearly half the water in the tub had been splashed out by Brian Carter, and the two pretty maids were soaked through, giggling nonstop.

The maids laughed, and Brian Carter laughed along with them. He knew in his heart that today was his 'hundredth day,' a day of great celebration. His high-ranking father would host a banquet at the mansion, inviting his colleagues.

...

With joy in the Prime Minister’s household, which official would dare not attend? After noon, the front of the Prime Minister’s residence became lively. Distinguished guests arrived one after another, the sounds of ceremonial greetings, congratulations, and laughter among colleagues blended together. The servants inside the mansion were full of energy, guiding guests to their seats and serving tea. Lord Foster was beaming with pride, his face showing none of the Prime Minister’s usual sternness, only the warmth of a host, moving among his many colleagues to greet and entertain them.

In the blink of an eye, dusk approached. The maids began to light the lamps, and the Prime Minister’s mansion was filled with honored guests—nearly ninety percent of the capital’s officials had arrived. Yet, between Lord Foster's brows, an unnoticeable trace of doubt had appeared: though many officials had come, two of the three most important people were still absent...

Before the Emperor Jingtai of the Great Yan Kingdom, there were four great ministers. The emperor once joked: "I have one scholar, one warrior, one immortal, and one snake. As long as these four pillars stand, my Great Yan will be safe."

The 'scholar' was Lord Foster himself; the 'warrior' was the veteran of three reigns, Duke Zhen Guo, Edward Bennett, who had already arrived and was chatting and laughing with a group of high officials. The 'immortal' referred to the current Imperial Preceptor; and the 'snake'—his surname was Xie.

Lord Brooks held the post of Sanqi Changshi, a third-rank official, a position far below the 'scholar' and 'warrior,' but he was the chief of the imperial secret service, the 'Changting Guard.' From supervising officials to gathering intelligence among the people, all was under the control of the Xie family—an immense power.

The Prime Minister knew very well that his own mansion was surely crawling with 'Changting Guard' spies—servants? The steward? Or perhaps the seventh concubine...

The 'immortal' and the 'snake' had not yet arrived. The Imperial Preceptor was always mysterious and eccentric, so his absence was no surprise. But Old Brooks was shrewd and smooth in his dealings—how could he not show up?

Just as he was wondering, the steward greeting guests at the front gate loudly announced, "Director of Imperial Physicians, Henry Sullivan Lord Sullivan has arrived!" The Director of Imperial Physicians was only a seventh-rank minor official. Not to mention Prime Minister Foster, even Brian Carter now outranked him. However, the Director oversaw all imperial physicians and was in charge of medicine, making him both a close attendant to the emperor and a 'life-saving Bodhisattva' to the capital’s officials. No matter how high their rank, no one dared slight them—after all, even the greatest official could fall ill.

With the announcement, Physician Sullivan stepped through the door. Others came bearing lavish gifts, afraid of seeming the least bit negligent, but only Physician Sullivan arrived empty-handed, bringing nothing but his mouth to enjoy the wine.

This man was unusually tall, obsessed with medicine all his life. It was said he slept no more than an hour a day, his eye sockets always so dark it looked as if he’d just been punched. He had the temperament of a bookworm—extremely proud, blunt in speech, and had offended countless powerful people. But his medical skills were truly outstanding, so others simply let it go.

Prime Minister Foster greeted him with a big smile. Physician Sullivan gave a perfunctory bow, then, without any congratulatory pleasantries, said directly, "I wanted to bring a few ginseng roots from the Imperial Medical Bureau as a gift, but it just so happened that the chief guard who hates me was on duty today, so I couldn’t get them out."

Prime Minister Foster was startled. A few ginseng roots were no big deal, but the medicines in the Imperial Medical Bureau were all procured by the royal family and thus belonged to the emperor. Physician Sullivan had actually wanted to steal the emperor’s ginseng as a gift for him... The Prime Minister shook his head and laughed, "Doctor, you must be joking, just joking."