Then he looked at his Daughter, who was still crouched on the ground with her head in her arms in a rather unseemly posture, and, speechless, directly lifted his foot and kicked her...

"Get out!"

He shouted.

Little Princess finally burst into tears with a wail.

But under the accumulated authority of her father, she still instinctively got up and ran out crying.

The head eunuch also hurriedly left with the young eunuchs. George Washington went straight to sit in the grand master's chair, took another grenade from Edward Clark's tactical vest—though he was clearly more cautious than his Daughter—hooked the safety pin, and, under Edward Clark's instantly tense gaze, then placed it back on the tea table. Edward Clark quickly stepped forward and picked it up again.

He only had four in total, and one had already been wasted.

"Such a small thing, yet with such power—quite interesting."

George Washington said with great interest.

"Your Majesty, you really shouldn't think about this thing. It doesn't contain gunpowder. A pound of what's inside is probably as powerful as dozens of pounds of gunpowder, but I don't know how to make it."

Edward Clark quickly tried to dissuade him.

"If you know nothing, then what use are you to me?"

George Washington's expression changed instantly, and he shouted with a murderous look.

Edward Clark hooked the pin at lightning speed...

"Your Majesty, this is the safety, and this lever is also a safety. If I pull it out and then let go, it really will explode—no one within twenty paces will survive."

He said.

You have to play hardball with His Majesty.

This emperor is too cunning; you can't outwit someone like him, not even ten of yourself could. You have to go with the simplest, most direct approach.

George Washington let out a cold laugh and looked at him...

"Who will succeed me after I am gone?"

His Majesty suddenly asked.

Edward Clark took a deep breath...

"I don't know!"

He replied bluntly.

"Truly don't know?"

George Washington barked harshly.

"Your Majesty, would a lowly soldier under your command know who all the emperors of the Tang Dynasty were? Six hundred years from now, I was just an ordinary soldier in the army—how could I possibly know so much?"

Edward Clark said.

George Washington looked at him with a murderous gaze, while Edward Clark calmly held the pin, putting on a stance of "if this doesn't work, let's just end it here," and the two stared at each other at close range.

"You had better really not know!"

His Majesty suddenly stood up and said with a cold laugh.

Then he strode out with his head held high.

Listening to his footsteps going downstairs, Edward Clark finally let out a long breath...

"Damn, serving the emperor is like living with a tiger. I can't stay here—I have to run."

He muttered to himself.

With George Washington's mind, of course he wouldn't believe that he truly didn't know. His Majesty sneaking over to discuss this issue with him meant he was starting to believe that he was from six hundred years in the future. And what he said earlier about military households also proved he knew something about the Ming Dynasty, so it was impossible for him not to know who succeeded George Washington after his death. His Majesty clearly attached great importance to this question. Now it was August of the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, which meant his crown prince Benjamin Franklin had only recently died.

John Adams was about to be made Crown Prince.

George Washington urgently needed to know whether his grandson would successfully inherit the throne after his death.

But...

This topic is just too dangerous!

This is simply not something an outsider should know.

If he told him that John Adams would succeed smoothly, then if word got out, would John Adams start to believe he was destined by heaven?

And then start getting ideas?

If he told him that John Adams would succeed smoothly, but would be usurped a few years later?

If that leaked out, how would uncle and nephew get along? How would George Washington treat Abraham Lincoln? Would Abraham Lincoln be so frightened that he'd do something rash? If the other princes knew John Adams would move against them, would they join Abraham Lincoln in making trouble? You could say that if this got out, it would cause utter chaos. And George Washington surely knew that only the dead can keep secrets—didn't you see he even kicked his Daughter out?

You could say that the moment he asked this question, Edward Clark was already as good as sentenced to death.

So he couldn't say.

Not saying meant he could still live, but only just.

It didn't mean that half an hour later, this place wouldn't be surrounded by a large number of Jinyiwei, who would then drag him off to prison for torture, or even lock him up in a dungeon forever.

He had to run!

Edward Clark put on his vest at top speed, slung on his backpack, then opened the window. Just as he was climbing out, the door opened, a head poked in and stared in astonishment at him preparing to escape. Edward Clark gave an awkward smile, and right after that, Little Princess squeezed in. She even turned back and shouted—

"Everyone out! I want to speak with the Immortal Master."

She said.

Then she came straight in, closed the door behind her, and quickly ran to Edward Clark's side.

"Take me with you, or I'll scream!"

She grabbed Edward Clark and said fiercely.

"Please, just let me go!"

Edward Clark said gloomily.

"No way, you liar! You said you'd take me out. If you don't, I'll call for help. Besides, do you even know how to get out? Outside are the imperial guards of the palace—thousands of elite soldiers on duty."

Little Princess said.