James Foster got up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

David Williams came over, pushed James Foster aside a bit, then whispered, “I’ve thought it over. After all, we’re real brothers, both descendants of the Han clan, carrying the blood of Emperor Wu. When I become emperor, I won’t kill you. I’ll even make you a king. If you behave yourself, maybe I’ll let you and your mother leave the capital and go be a minor king in a small commandery.”

“Th-thank you…” James Foster really couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Brothers united are as strong as steel. We need to work together, get to know each other better. Let’s just chat for a bit.”

“Mm.”

The two brothers sat in the darkness, neither able to come up with a suitable topic for a long time. David Williams grew annoyed again. “You really are a block of wood, can’t even make conversation. How about this: we’ll take turns asking questions. You go first.”

James Foster thought for a while. “Why do you always say ‘our Cui family’? Aren’t you also surnamed Han?”

“Nonsense, of course my surname is Han, but—” David Williams’s voice was already low, and now it dropped even lower. “There are too many descendants in the Han family. They don’t care about the princes at all; everyone only focuses on the emperor. In the Cui family, everyone likes me. Even though I’m just David Williams, they still like me, so I prefer the Cui family.”

Perhaps realizing he’d spoken too honestly, David Williams suddenly changed his tone. “But my surname really is Han, my name is Han Shu, a genuine prince, no lie. Everyone says I look the most like Emperor Wu. Your name is Ruzǐ, right? Why such a strange name? That can’t be your real name—everyone in our generation has a name with the ‘wood’ radical.”

“I… am just called Ruzǐ.” James Foster said uncertainly. “Mother said… Emperor Wu saw me and praised me as ‘a child who can be taught,’ so…”

David Williams burst out laughing, then quickly shut his mouth. After listening for a moment and realizing no one outside had noticed, he chuckled, “Your mother sure can make up stories. Do you believe her?”

James Foster said nothing.

David Williams gave James Foster a hard shove on the shoulder. “Boring. Your mother was a palace maid—didn’t she teach you how to please people?”

James Foster still said nothing. David Williams found it dull, jumped off the couch, returned to the big bed, and lay down to sleep again.

James Foster couldn’t fall asleep. He missed his mother, didn’t like the palace at all, and liked even less sharing a room with his half-brother. Gradually, his thoughts turned to William Turner, imagining that eunuch fighting a group of enemies somewhere, all for… James Foster hoped William Turner would win, but he really didn’t want to be emperor.

David Williams crept back in, climbed onto the couch, knelt facing the window, and said anxiously, “Something’s wrong, very wrong. The emperor is already dead, and only the two of us are eligible to inherit the throne. The Empress Dowager should have made me emperor first thing in the morning. What is she waiting for?”

“The Empress Dowager is mourning the emperor. That was her own son.”

“Pah! How can you be so stupid? Even if she’s heartbroken, the Empress Dowager should establish a new emperor first. That’s the custom, that’s… that’s her duty. Besides, she’s keeping both of us under house arrest, which shows her mind is perfectly clear.”

David Williams gently pushed the window. “Come help me.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to escape. The ministers will make me emperor. I really regret not leaving with those Taixue students at the Dongqing Gate. It’s all their fault—they just shouted, not one of them dared to actually do anything. That old eunuch Samuel Clark pinned me down so hard.”

James Foster knelt up, but didn’t help push the window. “You can’t escape. This is the Empress Dowager’s palace. There are two gates front and back. If you want to leave through the Penglai Gate, you’ll have to pass through three more gates and four long corridors, not to mention the imperial guards everywhere.”

“You… actually remember the way in?” David Williams was surprised.

“Not very clearly.”

David Williams muttered, “Hypocrite, almost fooled me. How can someone like you be allowed to stay?”

The door to the warm chamber rattled. David Williams didn’t have time to get back to bed; he quickly turned and sat properly on the couch. Suddenly inspired, he knelt up, grabbed one of James Foster’s arms, and pressed him against the windowsill.

James Foster was startled, but David Williams didn’t use much force, so he didn’t resist too hard.

“You’re trying to escape through the window!” David Williams shouted. The door opened, and light from outside spilled in. He shouted even louder, “Someone come quick, James is trying to escape!”

Wrongly accused, James Foster began to struggle, but he was evenly matched with David Williams. Having lost the initiative, he couldn’t turn things around and was pressed down even harder.

A gentle voice said, “You’re brothers—why are you fighting?”

David Williams knew when to stop, let go of James Foster, and jumped to the floor. “Your son greets the Imperial Consort Dowager. James was trying to escape, and I caught him.”

“You recognize me?” Mrs. Howard looked curiously at David Williams. Beside her, the eunuch Henry Clark held a lantern, and a palace maid carried a long wooden box.

“On the tenth day after Father ascended the throne, there was a family banquet in the palace. I paid my respects to the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Consort Dowager.” David Williams stood with his hands folded, looking as obedient as could be.