After the turmoil dies down, Chief Howard will come to find us. But before that, you must not slack off, or else Chief Howard will be very disappointed.”

“Mother, Lily definitely won’t slack off.”

William Thompson felt a jolt in his heart: people really can’t be judged by their appearance… Who would have thought that even in this small caravan, there are hidden talents?

Mr. Howard, Chief Howard?

That’s a very interesting title.

But what truly surprised William Thompson was the name ‘He Ruobi’.

In history, there really was a man named He Ruobi, precisely a founding elder of the Sui Dynasty and a key minister under Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian. The Zizhi Tongjian quotes Sui Chancellor Gao Ying’s evaluation: “Among the court officials, in terms of talent and ability, none surpass He Ruobi.” In other words, among all the civil and military officials of the Sui court, no one could match He Ruobi’s abilities.

You know, after the founding of the Sui Dynasty, there were countless famous ministers and generals, and Emperor Wen was considered enlightened in his early years. For He Ruobi to be called second to none, his abilities must have been extraordinary. Did He Ruobi act on Yang Jian’s orders as well?

If that’s the case, then the background of Mrs. Cooper and her daughter is probably even more complicated!

As William Thompson was pondering this, he suddenly heard Lily say, “Mother, look, the abandoned child has woken up!”

The “abandoned child” refers to the child left in the wilderness—namely, William Thompson. Snapping back to his senses, William Thompson saw Lily lift her hem and pull out a gleaming, shiny dagger from beneath her, her eyes filled with murderous intent—truly frightening.

Is this little girl going to kill me?

William Thompson was startled.

Just then, Mrs. Cooper also looked over. He hesitated briefly, then immediately started wailing and crying.

“Lily, don’t act recklessly! Put Green Pearl away!”

Mrs. Cooper hurriedly picked up William Thompson and said softly, “This child is also unfortunate… Besides, what can a child really understand? He’s probably just hungry.”

As she spoke, Mrs. Cooper loosened her collar, revealing her fair, swollen breast, and put it into William Thompson’s mouth.

That night, he nursed twice.

For forty-year-old William Thompson, it was truly awkward.

Green Pearl was the name of the dagger in Lily’s hand.

She put the dagger away and was about to speak when another baby in the carriage, awakened by William Thompson’s crying, also began to cry.

“Mother, he’s awake too!”

Before Lily finished speaking, someone outside the carriage window asked, “Mrs. Cooper, has the young master woken up?”

“He must be hungry. I’ll take care of him right away.”

William Thompson had thought that baby was Mrs. Cooper’s child. But from the tone, it didn’t seem so. He wasn’t very hungry anyway, so he immediately stopped crying. Mrs. Cooper put William Thompson down, picked up the other baby, gently rocked him while nursing, and sang an unknown little tune—probably a lullaby.

Lily lay on Mrs. Cooper’s leg, murmuring, “Mother, I miss Xiao Xiao.”

Mrs. Cooper’s face turned pale, and she said nothing, but William Thompson caught a trace of sorrow in the corner of her eye.

This mother and daughter definitely have a story!

……

George Sullivan’s convoy stayed at Sishui Pass for two days.

Sishui Pass, also known as Chenggao, has another name more familiar to many: Hulao Pass.

Legend has it that during the Western Zhou, King Mu kept fierce tigers presented by the vassals at this place, hence the name “Tiger Prison Pass.” Hulao Pass connects Mount Song to the south and the Yellow River to the north, with crisscrossing mountains—a strategic point linking Hebei and Luozhou.

During the two days at Sishui Pass, William Thompson was mostly held by David Sullivan.

Because of this, William Thompson more or less figured out the background of George Sullivan’s family. It turned out that George Sullivan’s origins were extraordinary—he was from one of the seven direct branches of the Zheng clan of Xingyang. The Zheng family of Xingyang? George Sullivan was actually from the Zheng family of Xingyang? William Thompson was quite surprised, because in later generations, Xingyang was under his own governance.

Of course, the Xingyang of later generations was different from the Xingyang of this era.

Today’s Xingyang, in later times, is just an ancient town called Guying Town. But the Zheng clan of Xingyang—William Thompson had long heard of their reputation.

When dividing history by time, it’s customary to call the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Sui-Tang periods the “medieval period.”

And in the medieval period, aside from endless wars, there was also the famous aristocratic clan system.

The clan system formed during the Eastern Han and flourished in the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. After Emperor Wu of the Western Han, people revered Confucianism, and most officials rose through scholarly learning. They taught students and had disciples and former subordinates all over the land, forming a social force.

Especially after the implementation of the Nine-Rank System, official selection depended solely on family status and reputation.

The saying “no poor families among the upper ranks, no aristocrats among the lower ranks” refers to this situation. The aristocratic clans monopolized officialdom and, through intermarriage, formed a ruling class. The Zheng clan of Xingyang was an important member of this ruling class.

Legend has it that the Zheng clan’s ancestors can be traced back to the Ji surname, and they were named Zheng because they were enfeoffed at Zheng.

Ancient history is hard to verify, but the Zheng clan of Xingyang rose to prominence in the Eastern Han, producing many talents. The most famous among them were the Confucian master Zheng Xuan, and Zheng Ji, the Marquis of Anyuan, who served as the Grand Protector of the Western Regions and expanded the territory of the Eastern Han.