“What’s wrong with this food? Our dynasty has always governed with diligence and frugality, and the royal family is the model for all under heaven. Even the Emperor and the Empress eat very simple meals every day, let alone His Grace the Duke, whose health is poor and absolutely should not eat rich or greasy food. That’s why you can only have these light dishes. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with this food—I eat the same things every day. If this were an ordinary family, they probably couldn’t even afford to eat this well!” Emily Foster was also very angry. Marrying someone like Henry Clark was already enough of a grievance for her, and now she had to supervise Henry Clark’s recovery. She never expected that he would still be so picky, which in her eyes was simply making trouble for no reason.

“Fine, I don’t object to lighter food, but I am at least a Duke. I receive a considerable salary every month. Can’t I use a little of my stipend to improve my meals? Eating nothing but vegetables and tofu every day—I’m about to turn into a monk!” Henry Clark stood his ground, not feeling he was in the wrong. He also knew that Song dynasty stipends were famously generous. Take himself as a Duke for example: he received three hundred strings of cash every month, plus large amounts of cloth, grain, and so on—altogether worth several hundred more. Just this income alone was enough to cover all the expenses of the entire princely household.

“Smack!” As soon as Henry Clark finished speaking, he saw Emily Foster take a stack of slips from a small box beside her and slap them onto the table, her delicate face full of anger as she said, “His Grace the Duke really is forgetful. You’d better take a look at these first!”

Henry Clark was startled by Emily Foster’s sudden anger. In his eyes, she was just a girl not much older than his former students, but women in ancient times seemed to mature especially early. At least when facing Emily Foster, Henry Clark always unconsciously treated her as an adult, even though she was only fifteen or sixteen.

“Sixth year of Jia v, third day of the sixth month, Henry Clark owes David Thompson one thousand strings, special note made; sixth year of Jia v, sixteenth day of the eighth month, Henry Clark owes Robert Foster one thousand three hundred strings, note made; seventh year of Jia v, twenty-third day of the second month, Henry Clark owes George Lane two thousand one hundred strings…”

Henry Clark looked through them one by one, growing more and more alarmed, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. This whole stack was made up of Henry Clark’s IOUs—over twenty slips in total, each for no less than a thousand strings, with the largest as much as five thousand. Altogether, the debts amounted to fifty or sixty thousand strings. Heaven only knew how someone as young as Henry Clark had managed to rack up so much debt!

“His Grace the Duke, you’ve finished looking, right? This is only part of your debts outside. I’ve already sent people to pay off some and retrieve the IOUs. There’s still sixty-three thousand seven hundred and ten strings left unpaid. In a few days, I’ll have some of the household’s property, along with part of my dowry, sold off. It still might not be enough, but the remaining debt won’t be too much. If the household lives frugally for a few years, it should be paid off!” Emily Foster spoke coldly. She was completely disillusioned with her marriage. Other women married to enjoy a good life, but she not only married a wastrel, she also had to shoulder a huge debt, even sacrificing her own dowry to pay it off. Was there any woman in the world more unfortunate than her?

When Henry Clark heard that Emily Foster was going to sell her dowry to pay his debts, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Although these debts were incurred by the previous Henry Clark, now that he occupied this body and inherited the identity, by the principle of equivalent exchange, he couldn’t just enjoy the rights without bearing the obligations. These debts were now his responsibility.

“Well… these IOUs don’t specify a repayment date, and no one has come to collect yet. I think we can wait a bit. I’ll find a way to pay them off in time. We shouldn’t make the whole household suffer just to pay debts, and daily expenses shouldn’t be too tight either!” Henry Clark said awkwardly. After all, Emily Foster was his wife, and he didn’t want her to suffer right after marrying him. Besides, he wasn’t too worried about the debts. After all, he was a transmigrator, with over a thousand years’ more knowledge than people of the Song dynasty. He was sure he could find a way to make money!

But Emily Foster clearly misunderstood Henry Clark’s intentions. Given her poor impression of him, she thought he was trying to shirk his debts, which made her flush with anger. Her fair little hand slapped the table as she shouted, “Daughters of the The Foster Family never owe anyone anything, and certainly never default on debts! From now on, I’ll handle all the household expenses. His Grace the Duke needn’t trouble yourself!”

Henry Clark hadn’t expected his good intentions to be met with such a scolding, and his face fell. In a fit of anger, he didn’t bother to explain and turned to leave.

“Wait. The Empress asked me to supervise your recovery. Besides taking medicine, your diet is also important, so please finish your meal before you go, His Grace the Duke!” Before Henry Clark could leave, Emily Foster suddenly spoke again.

“And what if I don’t eat?” Henry Clark heard that she was actually going to force him to eat, and his anger flared up again. He spun around and stared at Emily Foster as he asked.