After experiencing the disaster of the Five Barbarians’ Invasion of China, the The Sullivan Clan split into northern and southern branches, with the northern branch’s place of origin established in Xingyang. The so-called “place of origin” was also a symbol of status—much like how people in later generations would introduce themselves as being from a certain place. The Xingyang The Sullivan Clan had seven branches after the Northern Dynasties: Bailin, Xiaobai, Shuye, Donglin, Guicang, Lianshan, and Youlin (Benjamin Sullivan, also known as Andrew Sullivan). George Sullivan was a descendant of the Lianshan branch.

During the Sui dynasty, the most famous member of the The Sullivan Clan was Matthew Sullivan, who helped Yang Jian usurp the Zhou dynasty.

Regardless of Matthew Sullivan’s motives, he contributed to the founding of the new dynasty, and thus his branch flourished the most and was the main line of the The Sullivan Family.

William Thompson was secretly amazed—could it be that after his rebirth, he was to become a member of this The Sullivan Family?

Chapter 3: The Aristocratic The Sullivan Clan (Part 2)

George Sullivan was currently serving as the Sui dynasty’s General of Agile Cavalry. However, this title was not quite the same as the General of Agile Cavalry during the Eastern Han period. In the Sui dynasty, the General of Agile Cavalry was merely the chief officer of a basic military unit under the fubing system, with a rank of only fourth class.

As for George Sullivan’s only son, Samuel Sullivan, he served as a Tongshi Sheren in the court, with an even lower rank.

From this, it was clear that the Xingyang The Sullivan Clan had indeed declined since entering the Sui dynasty. Although the branch of Matthew Sullivan still provided some support, Matthew Sullivan had already passed away, and his descendants, relying on the lingering prestige, could barely hold on—it was obvious they could no longer compare to their former glory.

However, since Sisui Pass was not far from Xingyang, the reputation of the The Sullivan Family was still quite useful.

The most obvious example was that, upon learning of David Sullivan’s request, the commander of Sisui Pass immediately sent people to investigate without hesitation.

William Thompson himself couldn’t say exactly where Yanjiacun was located.

But it was clearly some distance from Sisui Pass. With such a search, it was naturally impossible to find any results. So, two days later, David Sullivan received the relevant documents from the commander of Sisui Pass and set out with George Sullivan.

During the Kaihuang era, Emperor Wen of Sui managed household registration with great strictness.

He paid particular attention to the hidden population among the aristocratic clans. Chancellor Gao Ying even conducted several censuses to enforce strict household registration management. Of course, if the aristocratic clans wanted to hide people, it wasn’t difficult. However, since David Sullivan had served the The Sullivan Family for five generations, his status and position were different from ordinary servants. So, when he wanted to adopt William Thompson, he naturally arranged for his household registration. However, on the relevant documents, William Thompson’s name had already been changed to Richard Sullivan. Once they returned to Xingyang and completed the formalities, he would have an official identity.

Richard Sullivan?

In David Sullivan’s arms, William Thompson repeatedly muttered this name.

He knew that from this moment on, he had truly integrated into this era. From now on, he would be called Richard Sullivan!

It didn’t take long to travel from Sisui Pass to Xingyang.

Because David Sullivan needed to serve at George Sullivan’s side, he left Richard Sullivan in the carriage with Mrs. Cooper and her child.

Strictly speaking, Mrs. Cooper and her child were not entitled to ride in the carriage. The only reason they could was because of another infant in the carriage—Samuel Sullivan’s son, Charles Sullivan. Richard Sullivan lay on a tiger-skin mat, on his side, watching the sleeping Charles Sullivan. But in his mind, he had no rest at all, constantly thinking about the challenges he would face in the future.

If his calculations were correct, it should be the late Kaihuang era now.

After Kaihuang, there would be four years of Renshou, followed by the reign of the infamous Sui Emperor Yang Guang.

By the time Emperor Yang of Sui perished, he would be in his twenties, and what awaited him would be the arrival of a prosperous age.

How should he proceed?

Richard Sullivan needed a plan.

He didn’t know that, as he was planning for the future, a pair of eyes was curiously sizing him up.

Duoduo had already fallen asleep, curled up beside Mrs. Cooper.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Cooper was gazing at Richard Sullivan, her heart full of curiosity...

This was a strange baby. After several days, he was rarely heard to cry and was very quiet.

Generally speaking, infants have no control over their eating, drinking, and bodily functions. Yet this little fellow seemed to be unusually sensible, requiring no attention from Mrs. Cooper, and certainly not like young master Charles Sullivan, who needed his diaper changed several times a day. Most of the time, the little one would stare with his big, dark eyes—sometimes looking very curious, sometimes as if deep in thought.

Deep in thought?

A smile appeared at the corner of Mrs. Cooper’s mouth.

She was laughing at herself—what child would start pondering things while still in swaddling clothes?

Still, he really was an interesting little fellow, wasn’t he?

The The Sullivan Family had a considerable foundation in Xingyang.

Each of the seven branches had their own residence, but only the direct heir of the family head was qualified to live in the ancestral home. Although George Sullivan had achieved fame, he could not live in the ancestral home; instead, he resided in Anyuan Hall, which was also an important estate of the The Sullivan Family in Xingyang.

The hall name was also a symbol representing great aristocratic families.

Unlike most noble families, the Xingyang The Sullivan Clan had two hall names. One was Zhuojing Hall, named to honor the great Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan of the late Eastern Han. Only the patriarch’s branch could live in Zhuojing Hall; the other hall name was Anyuan Hall, where George Sullivan’s branch resided, named after Zheng Ji, who was granted the title Marquis of Anyuan for pacifying the Western Regions during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han.