Listening to Ryan Clark’s meticulous accounting, Brian Clark couldn’t help but smile wryly to himself. Although he was now addressed as “young master,” his current circumstances were not only incomparable to his previous life as a wealthy heir, but even worse than his most destitute days. Yet, with only a handful of people left in the household, no matter how skillfully he managed things, he would always have to pay a price. While Sixth King would certainly put in effort for the sake of having a place to stay, to truly keep someone loyal, their interests had to be tied together. If there were only risks and no benefits, wouldn’t people just jump ship when they saw it sinking?

So, he raised his hand to signal Ryan Clark to sit down before finally speaking: “How much money do we actually have left?”

The word “we” made Ryan Clark feel much more at ease, both on his face and in his heart. Counting on his fingers, he answered earnestly, “There are still four strings of cash, a ten-tael silver ingot, plus a little over three taels in loose silver, and about two hundred strings of last year’s new paper money.”

Although these were all different units, Brian Clark was no longer a newcomer here and had a rough idea of the amounts. One tael of silver was said to exchange for one string of cash, but in the market it was always worth more, and two hundred strings of paper money were worth about one tael of silver, if not less. Calculating it all, he had at most just over twenty taels of ready money on hand, equivalent to sixty bushels of white rice—not a small sum, but by no means a lot. He could only blame a certain someone’s extravagance in the past; otherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a tight spot now.

“It’s fine, you have to give to get. Today it’s just a small sum, and if push comes to shove, even a big profit can be sacrificed.” Seeing that Ryan Clark was about to protest again in his anxiety, Brian Clark yawned and said, “It’s so late already, let’s talk about it tomorrow. Oh, and you’ve worked hard today too. There’s no reason to reward only Sixth King and not you. Go take a tael of silver from the money box for yourself, just as—”

Before he could finish, he felt a gust of wind by his ear. Turning his head, he saw that Ryan Clark had already stormed out of the room in a huff. Stunned for a moment, he couldn’t help but chuckle, then lay down with his hands behind his head.

That Sixth King was slick and shrewd—useless without a bribe—but Ryan Clark was single-mindedly loyal!

Early the next morning, despite their spat, Ryan Clark still appeared before Brian Clark right on time, though he spoke much less than usual. But after their morning exercise and breakfast, when the freshly dressed Brian Clark mentioned buying cloth to have a few short-sleeved shirts made, Ryan Clark immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum: “No need to waste money, just buy a bolt of standard cloth. My mother taught me tailoring!”

“All right, I’ll leave buying the cloth and the tailoring to you.” Without another word, Brian Clark handed all these chores over to Ryan Clark and turned to leave. As he reached the door, he felt someone tug his sleeve. Turning, he saw Ryan Clark standing there looking uncomfortable, so he smiled and asked, “What is it, anything you want to remind me about?”

“How would I dare to remind the young master…” Ryan Clark muttered gloomily, then said, “Anyway, young master, just be careful. Sixth King isn’t trustworthy—who knows what he used to fool you. Don’t believe everything he says.”

“Got it, got it.”

Brian Clark almost suspected that this nagging young man was hardly manly at all, so after agreeing repeatedly, he immediately stepped out the door. It was already early March; though spring flowers were said to be blooming in Jiangnan, the mornings were still chilly. Leisurely, Brian Clark made his way to the second gate, where he saw Sixth King already waiting in the outer courtyard, peering around. As soon as he spotted him, Sixth King dashed over at lightning speed.

Perhaps because he rarely accompanied Brian Clark out, Sixth King was especially well-groomed today. He wore a plain short-sleeved shirt of standard cloth, a pair of cloth shoes with layered soles, both freshly laundered, and a small cap on his head. Stepping forward, he greeted him with a beaming smile, then, almost by instinct, rolled up his sleeves halfway. “Young master, are we…”

“To the Shen family in Taiping Lane.”

Chapter Nine: Breaking Off the Engagement

They were going to the Shen family?

Sixth King was filled with questions, but faced with the nonchalant Brian Clark, he couldn’t get a single word out. He could only reply and dash off to the eastern stable to get things ready. Fortunately, he had already washed the mule and cleaned the carriage that morning, so in just a quarter of an hour everything was set, and he smoothly brought the carriage to the door. After helping Brian Clark into the carriage, he lowered the thick cotton curtain, closed the door, and then took his seat as the driver.

This was Brian Clark’s first time going out by carriage. The muffled rumble of wheels over the flagstone road, Sixth King’s shouts to clear the way, the sounds of people and horses on the roadside—all these noises blended together, creating a strangely hypnotic effect. So, even though the carriage jolted violently, he curled up in his seat and gradually drifted off to sleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he was jolted awake by someone shaking him. Blinking, he saw Sixth King’s face in front of him. Without a word, he sat up and stepped out of the carriage. Once his feet were on solid ground, he looked around and saw that the road in front of the gate was unusually wide, the high walls of the mansions on both sides perfectly neat, most of them looking brand new. He couldn’t help but ponder for a moment before walking up to the main gate of the Shen residence, where Sixth King had already gone ahead, sensing what to do.

“Excuse me, my young master is here to pay his respects to Master Shen. May I ask if Master Shen is at home?”