The bearded man grabbed his sash with one hand and ran toward the man. Finally, before the man could run out of the palace gate, he caught up with him. The bearded man leapt forward, knocking the man over and pinning him to the ground. Straddling the man, he continued tying his own sash. After finishing, he smiled and asked, “Why do you run away as soon as you see me? Do you think I am a tyrannical emperor?”

“You are just like Jie or Zhou... Zhou... Zhou, those kinds of emperors!”

“Hahaha~~”

The bearded George Carter laughed heartily, stood up, and smugly stroked his big beard. The minister got up, straightened his clothes and hat, and glared angrily at George Carter. Only then did George Carter put away his smug look and, with a cautious smile, said, “Censor Zhou, please don’t blame me. I won’t dare do it again.”

Edward Bennett snorted coldly and ignored him.

“Hey, your clothes are all dirty. That’s my fault! How about I compensate you with ten new ones?”

“My clothes weren’t dirtied by Your Majesty, but by the prince.”

“The prince?”

George Carter was completely confused.

Only then did Edward Bennett stammer out the story of his encounter with Charles Carter just now, and in the end, he said sternly, “If a father’s behavior is improper, the child will imitate it!”

Clearly, he was using this topic to admonish George Carter.

George Carter angrily cursed, “That brat! Among my children, Fei is the gentlest, Ying the wisest, Ruyi is like me, Heng the kindest, Hui the most trustworthy, but only this Chang is unruly and lawless, the least like me of all!”

This was obviously a counterattack: you say children imitate their fathers, so why are my other children so outstanding?

“Oh…”

Edward Bennett narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully sizing up the emperor of the Han Empire before him.

Chapter Two: The Crown Prince Next Door

“Marquis of Fenyin, you’re in such a hurry to see me—there must be something important you want to discuss, right?”

Once again, it was George Carter who shifted the topic.

“Yes.”

Only then did Edward Bennett remember the real business he had come for. He said seriously, “Your Majesty wants to depose the crown prince and make Prince Ruyi the new crown prince. This is wrong!”

“Oh? The crown prince is clever, but he’s too cautious and lacks boldness. Ruyi is free-spirited, loves martial arts, and has my style—he’s more suited to be emperor. I want to make Ruyi the crown prince. What’s wrong with that?”

George Carter sat down unhurriedly, not even looking at Edward Bennett, fiddling with the ornaments on his lower robe.

“The crown prince is innately pure, kind, filial, and respectful. There isn’t a day he doesn’t come to pay his respects to Your Majesty. He gets along harmoniously with his brothers, and besides, he is intelligent, studious, and has a spirit of benevolence and righteousness. Why depose such a crown prince?”

“Let’s not talk about anything else. I’ll give you the simplest reason…”

George Carter said blandly.

“He is my legitimate eldest son! Yet he’s always bullied by that brat Chang! Can someone like that be emperor?!”

George Carter’s tone suddenly became intense, his voice several notches louder than usual. In that moment, there was no trace of the previously jovial old rascal—he was imposing and full of murderous intent, truly a battle-hardened, iron-blooded emperor.

But Edward Bennett was not afraid of him at all.

His face flushed with anger, and he shouted even louder, “The crown prince is not afraid of Prince Chang; it’s just that he is young and chooses to be tolerant out of affection! Is that supposed to be a crime?!”

“Do you want to choose a crown prince who isn’t bullied, who could even kill his own brothers?”

“Do you want to become a second First Emperor? Do you want a Hu Hai?”

“My eloquence is poor, but as for deposing the crown prince, I absolutely… absolutely… absolutely cannot agree!”

Seeing Edward Bennett getting flustered, George Carter was no longer so angry. He withdrew his imposing manner and once again looked at Edward Bennett with a smiling face.

Edward Bennett was not the first to try to persuade George Carter. Before him, almost all the ministers had come to advise him. George Carter’s intention to change the crown prince had already stirred up huge waves in the court, with countless ministers arguing over the matter and innumerable people offering advice. Of course, most spoke in veiled terms, but Edward Bennett was the first to admonish him directly and without reservation.

In the end, George Carter only lazily replied with a perfunctory “alright,” showing no sincerity at all.

But Edward Bennett could say no more.

When Edward Bennett walked out of the Xuanshi Hall, he “happened” to run into Martha Clark, who had come to see the emperor. Martha Clark was much younger than George Carter. She wore a bright red ceremonial dress. As emperor and empress of the Han, George Carter and Martha Clark had almost opposite styles of dress.

George Carter always liked to wear his old clothes. Even after becoming emperor, he still wore his old crown, only dressing more luxuriously when going on inspection tours. Usually, when drinking and boasting with ministers in the palace, he dressed extremely simply.

But Martha Clark always wore the brightest and most luxurious clothes, always followed by several palace maids with bowed heads.

George Carter was boisterous, drinking with the ministers, and when drunk, he’d put his arms around their shoulders, even getting into fights. But Martha Clark was always cold and dignified, a true ice beauty.