Richard Clark raised his head and noticed that Lily was surprisingly not dressed in her usual martial attire today. She wore a long white ruqun, covered by a dark-colored jacket. Her hair was styled in double crow buns, and there was a faint smile on her face. She looked delicate, exuding a touch of dignity.

  “Lily, did you just go out?”

  After practicing martial arts together for two years, Richard Clark had gradually stopped calling her “sister,” whether intentionally or not.

  After all, with the soul of a forty-year-old man, it felt uncomfortable for him to call a little girl “sister.” Lily didn’t mind either, and had no complaints about Richard Clark addressing her by name. Hearing Richard Sullivan’s question, Lily hesitated for a moment and softly replied, “Mother asked me to go shopping with her, but I didn’t find it interesting, so I came back first.”

  “Oh!”

  Richard Clark casually remarked, “Mrs. Cooper has been going out a lot these past two days.”

  “Ah, these past two days... there’s been a lot going on!”

  Richard Sullivan looked up in surprise. “I was just asking casually.”

  “And I just answered casually.”

  Richard Clark felt that Lily seemed a bit off today, but couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong. In the past, Lily rarely offered explanations, but today... something just felt odd. However, Richard Sullivan’s mind was currently preoccupied with matters concerning Mark Sullivan, so he didn’t pursue it further. He hugged his knees, putting on a troubled expression.

  “Little scholar, what’s wrong with you today?”

  “Lily, after the New Year, we might have to leave here.”

  “Oh? Where to?”

  “Grandfather said that Second Master has returned and will take over his affairs. The eldest young master will take up the post of Assistant at the Eastern Office in Luoyang after the New Year, and he’ll need people to help him. So the old master intends for us to go to Luoyang, so we can look after the eldest young master’s family.”

  “Luoyang?”

  Lily’s body trembled slightly.

  Actually, the fact that David Sullivan and his grandson were going to Luoyang was no longer a secret.

  Ever since George Sullivan instructed Mark Sullivan to take over the affairs of Anyuan Hall, the future of David Sullivan’s family had already become clear.

  But hearing it confirmed from Richard Clark’s mouth, Lily’s expression still changed.

  She quickly lowered her head and softly said, “Going to Luoyang is good... That’s a good thing. Why do you look so troubled?”

  “I just feel that the old master has already announced that Second Master will take over the household affairs.

  But Second Master has been back for quite a while and still hasn’t gotten involved. Grandfather is busy late into the night every day, and I’m worried about him...”

  “Little scholar, you’re so filial!”

  Lily praised him gently, making Richard Clark feel a bit embarrassed.

  He couldn’t possibly tell Lily that he suspected something was wrong with Mark Sullivan, which was why he was so troubled, could he?

  If Lily let something slip, Mark Sullivan might send someone to kill him tonight. Mark Sullivan had a warrior by his side, and killing him would be all too easy.

  “By the way, I saw the Smiling Tiger today!”

  Seeing that Richard Sullivan didn’t respond, Lily suddenly changed the subject and brought up something that greatly interested Richard Clark.

  The Smiling Tiger was the chubby scholar who had returned with Mark Sullivan. According to Mark Sullivan, the fat man’s surname was Wang, given name Jingwen, from Yangzhou, and he was a steward Mark Sullivan had acquired in Taiyuan. James King was plump and always wore a smile like the Maitreya Buddha, making people feel at ease. But Lily didn’t like him much, and had privately said that James King had a violent air about him.

  As for the physiognomy of the ancients, Richard Clark didn’t understand it.

  But with decades of political experience in later generations, he had his own unique way of reading people.

  He vaguely felt that James King was definitely not just Mark Sullivan’s steward... Although both Mark Sullivan and James King were excellent actors, unconsciously, Mark Sullivan would show a certain humility of a subordinate. Not only in front of James King, but also in front of that warrior named Arthur Grant, Mark Sullivan would display the same humility, which was definitely not normal.

  So, Richard Clark privately called James King the “Smiling Tiger,” and Arthur Grant the “Cold-Faced Ghost.”

  Hearing Lily suddenly mention James King, Richard Clark was stirred, feeling that he might have overlooked something in the past.

  He instinctively asked, “Where did you see him?”

  “Guanshui Pavilion,” Lily replied.

  Guanshui Pavilion was a century-old restaurant in Xingyang, and also the largest den of luxury in the city. Ordinary commoners and drinkers were not admitted. Only the wealthy or noble could enter Guanshui Pavilion—it was a symbol of status.

  Richard Sullivan had heard of Guanshui Pavilion, but had never been inside.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, but that he wasn’t qualified to enter...

  Lily continued, “Little scholar, you’ll never guess who James King was with.”

  “Who?”

  “Albert Price and Harold Price!”

  “What?”

  Richard Clark was quite shocked.

  Albert Price was the head of the Zhengzhou branch of the Cui clan of Qinghe, and also their representative in the Central Plains. The Cui clan of Qinghe had ten branches. Three of them had settled in the Central Plains, and the Zhengzhou branch was the most powerful among them.

  Although Harold Price had already fallen on hard times, the Zhengzhou Cui clan was still not to be underestimated.

  Harold Price’s brothers, Walter Price and Frederick Price, were still serving in the court. As the clan head, Albert Price rarely appeared in public and always kept a low profile. However, he had visited Anyuan Hall a few times, so Lily had seen him before.