Maybe he would be taken away, or maybe he would once again be abandoned in the wilderness. He felt conflicted inside—after all, which choice was better? Of course, the right to choose was not in his hands, but in the hands of this The Elder before him. No matter what decision The Elder made, he would have no room to resist. So he braced himself and listened carefully.

　　The Elder picked up William Thompson and looked him over from head to toe.

　　Seeing his delicate and lovely appearance, he actually felt some affection for him, though his face showed hesitation.

　　"This child's clothing is not ordinary; he doesn't look like he comes from a poor family."

　　As he spoke, he placed William Thompson in front of him, opened his clothes, and from the small quilt wrapped around William Thompson, he took out a longevity lock made of fine white jade. William Thompson had always felt something pressing against him, making him uncomfortable. He hadn't expected it to be such a longevity lock, just the size of his palm, and was momentarily stunned.

　　In that brief moment, The Elder had already picked up the longevity lock.

　　Even without mentioning the quality of the lock, just the exquisite qilin design on it showed it was crafted by a master artisan.

　　On the front was a qilin, along with four ancient seal characters: 大野麟儿.

　　On the back of the longevity lock was a beast design, with a line of small seal script on each side: 言扬行举, 庆云祥凤.

　　William Thompson saw The Elder's brows immediately knit together.

　　"Father, what's wrong?"

　　"The origins of this child are probably not simple... If not for some disaster in his family, he would never have been abandoned in the wilderness."

　　"Huh?"

　　David Walker and Samuel Lewis were both taken aback. "Master, what do you mean by that?"

　　"If it were just his clothing, that would be one thing—at most, it would prove he comes from a wealthy family. But this longevity lock..."

　　As The Elder spoke, he handed the longevity lock to Samuel Lewis, then explained to David Walker: "The phrase '庆云祥凤' is easy enough to explain; it's an auspicious sign, likely his family wishing him blessings. But the phrase '言扬行举' comes from the Book of Rites—'The Heir Apparent of King Wen.'

　　I remember the full sentence: '凡语于郊者必取贤敛才焉，或以德进，或以事举，或以言扬。'

　　It means: the virtuous should value both moral conduct and reputation."

　　At this point, The Elder paused. "Of these two lines, the characters '言' and '庆' stand out the most. I suppose that's the child's name. How could an ordinary family come up with such a name? If it were a wealthy family, giving such a name clearly shows high hopes—how could they so easily abandon him in the wild? So I conclude, there must have been some disaster in his family."

　　Yanqing?

　　William Thompson thought to himself: Could that be my name?

　　Samuel Lewis said, "Father, do you mean to put the child back where we found him?"

　　The Elder did not answer immediately, but after a moment's thought, he said to the fat old man, "David Walker, do you want to adopt him?"

　　Apparently, while William Thompson was nursing earlier, the fat old man had said something.

　　"This old servant thinks that if we put the child back where he was, he probably won't survive. In this desolate wilderness, even if he doesn't freeze or starve, he might be eaten by wild animals... I feel that, no matter what trouble his parents have gotten into, abandoning him here means his chances are slim. Since that's the case, why not adopt him? It would be a good deed. If you agree, Master, David Walker truly does want to keep him, and in the future, there will be someone to care for me in my old age."

　　As the fat old man spoke, he glanced at William Thompson, his eyes full of affection.

　　Sometimes, fate really is a curious thing. When David Walker found William Thompson, William Thompson wasn't crying or fussing—mainly because crying takes effort, and since his goal was achieved, there was no need to keep crying.

　　But in David Walker's eyes, it became a sign of fate.

　　Otherwise, why would the child stop crying and even smile at him when he picked him up?

　　The Elder remained silent, while Samuel Lewis beside him nodded gently.

　　"Father, the steward's words make sense. Steward Zheng is now over fifty and has no children of his own. Having a child is always a good thing. Besides, if we take the child home and say the old steward bought him in Luoyang, who would know?

　　Also, Charles Brooks is about to turn one, and will need someone to look after him in the future.

　　The old steward has served our Zheng family for five generations. Now with this sixth generation, it would be a fine story to tell. Don't you think so?"

　　It seemed Samuel Lewis truly respected David Walker.

　　David Walker gave Samuel Lewis a grateful look and nodded, a hopeful expression appearing on his fair face.

　　The Elder pondered for a moment, then finally made up his mind.

　　"How could I not understand this feeling of compassion? But my Zheng family is not what it once was.

　　The current emperor is a man of strong opinions and has always harbored hostility toward the aristocratic families of the east... Back then, the clan leader rendered great service, but in the end, we must tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice. The Zheng clan once had seven branches—what glory that was. But now, only the third and my sixth branches remain, so I must be even more cautious. This time, the eldest son of the Duke of Tang, Jiancheng, is engaged to the third branch, which has eased the emperor's hostility toward our Zheng family, but we must still be careful...

　　Moreover, the current situation seems unstable. Since the Prince of Jin returned from Jiangdu, the emperor has become increasingly dissatisfied with the crown prince.