At this point, Sixth King stole a glance at Brian Clark. Seeing that he showed no sign of displeasure, Sixth King became even more convinced that this young master had suddenly become enlightened after a great upheaval. He swallowed to moisten his throat and continued, “The marriage your father arranged for you with the Shen family—well, the Shens are a famous wealthy household in Taipingli. Though they’re not as rich as Shen Wansan was in the days of Emperor Hongwu, they still have at least ten thousand taels of family wealth. Who in the clan isn’t envious? If they can use this incident to expel you from the family, they can pick someone else to inherit the second branch and the family business. At the same time, they might even get another chance at...”

“So, you’re saying that my previous waywardness and reckless indulgence, nearly costing me my life, might have some hidden cause behind it?”

Brian Clark casually interjected. Seeing Sixth King looking at him as if he’d seen a ghost, he realized that this shrewd Sixth King probably knew something. He smiled even more nonchalantly, but didn’t offer any further explanation.

Under Brian Clark’s half-smiling gaze, Sixth King could only nod and force a smile, but cold sweat broke out on his back. Either this master had suddenly become enlightened, or he had always been wise while pretending to be foolish. In that case, wasn’t his own posturing utterly ridiculous?

Chapter Eight: Lavish Spending, Family Fortunes Dwindling

With this realization, Sixth King, who had originally planned to reveal only half the truth and wait for benefits before saying more, immediately abandoned his little scheme. He almost couldn’t stop talking as he poured out all the information he’d painstakingly gathered over the past few days.

It turned out that Sixth Elder ClarkTravis Clark, who had now been promoted to the position of Registrar in the Records Office, came from a collateral branch of the clan. In his youth, he was not particularly outstanding. Although he later passed the county-level exam, it wasn’t until he was twenty-six that he finally graduated from the student ranks, which was far behind his predecessors. However, he passed the provincial exam on his second try and became a juren, then steadily advanced to become a registrar, and later secured a position as a director in the Records Office of the Yingtian Prefecture. This recent promotion finally removed the “unranked” label from his title. In today’s world, where exam credentials are everything, for someone not from the main line to reach this position in just nine years of officialdom was quite an achievement.

However, Travis Clark’s family was not particularly wealthy, and the Records Office only handled files and miscellaneous affairs—hardly a lucrative department in the entire Yingtian Prefecture. Even so, for a Nanjing native to secure such a managerial post locally was extremely rare. According to Sixth King’s guess, this well-regarded Sixth Elder Clark of Taipingli must have spent a great deal of money to get there.

“I see.”

After Sixth King’s lengthy explanation, Brian Clark only offered these four concise words. However, his generosity far exceeded his words—he immediately had Ryan Clark reward Sixth King with a string of cash. Sure enough, as Sixth King hefted the heavy string of qingfu coins and reached the door, he suddenly slapped his forehead and turned back.

“Look at my memory—I actually forgot the main thing.” Sixth King seemed completely unaware that he had just changed the way he addressed himself, his face full of regret and embarrassment. “It’s said that the eldest master and the third and fourth masters have discussed it, and everyone will contribute a share of the clan’s profits to give the sixth master an extra ten percent. This news was probably released on purpose, which is why I was able to find out. As for how much each family will give as a congratulatory gift, that’s kept strictly secret.

As for those gentlemen I mentioned last time, several of the directors from the Supervisory Office will attend, and it’s said that the fifth young master from the Chief Magistrate’s family plans to come for the spectacle. So even if the second and third magistrates don’t come themselves, the younger generation will have to show up. The banquet will be held at Kuiyuan Tower on Gongyuan Street, which used to be where scholars celebrated their exam success. The sixth master is known for his love of the arts—calligraphy, painting, and so on are his favorites. Of course, if any of the younger clan members can earn a word of praise from him for their poetry, it’s a matter of pride. However, it’s said that the eldest master has made it clear that your presence would only bring shame, so you weren’t even considered.”

“You’ve gathered quite a lot of details. Go home and get some rest—you’ve worked hard today. Tomorrow morning, come out with me.”

This time, Brian Clark nodded thoughtfully, then had Ryan Clark escort Sixth King out through the second gate and lock up. Although there was no clock, and he hadn’t gone out to check the old bronze clepsydra in the main hall, he knew it was already quite late. Though he’d taken off his shoes and sat on the bed, he felt no trace of sleepiness. As he pondered, he heard hurried footsteps, and before long, Ryan Clark returned.

Compared to the last time he’d tipped Mrs. King, when his face was already uncomfortable, Ryan Clark looked even more troubled now. So Brian Clark glanced at him and laughed, “As the old saying goes, ‘A thousand pieces of gold spent will return again.’ Don’t feel bad.”

“That’s easy for you to say, young master. The household’s monthly expenses, plus the wages for Sixth Brother King and Mrs. King, only come to four or five taels of silver. But ever since I started managing the money, just what you’ve taken out, young master, has totaled at least a hundred taels. The remaining ten or so taels would have barely lasted us to the end of the year, but we still have to prepare a gift for the fourth master. With you spending so much, how are we supposed to get through the rest of the year?”