“His Majesty’s position is granted by Heaven, not something achieved by human effort. That’s also why I was caught.”

“Well said!”

George Carter was truly delighted and was about to laugh out loud, when the middle-aged man continued, “However…”

“Although Your Majesty is good at disciplining generals, it seems Your Majesty’s taste in architecture is not so great.”

George Carter was greatly surprised and asked, “Why do you say that?”

The middle-aged man calmly pointed at the distant pavilion and asked, “Was this done intentionally by Your Majesty?”

George Carter turned to look, only to see that the railings around the main pavilion had been mostly dismantled, with several places left bare. The railings that hadn’t yet been removed swayed in the wind, and there were even wood shavings and a few broken pieces of wood on the ground. George Carter was dumbfounded, standing there like a wooden chicken, motionless.

“Wasn’t it?”

“Then someone in the palace has stolen Your Majesty’s wood.”

The middle-aged man continued to twist the knife.

“Guards!!”

With a furious roar from George Carter, the armored guards in the distance quickly rushed to his side, kneeling on one knee before him.

George Carter’s face was flushed red, his eyes seemingly burning with rage. “Someone actually dared to dismantle my pavilion! Steal my wood!”

“Go investigate! Bring that petty thief to me!”

The guards immediately ran off, though two remained, keeping a close eye on the middle-aged man.

……

Charles Carter carried a handsaw, humming a little tune, swaggering along the gravel path. He really had found a good spot—long, square, round, all kinds of wood could be found. If he got some more square timber today, he’d basically have enough materials.

This handsaw was just too small. If only he had an axe.

As Charles Carter was thinking this, he was suddenly enveloped by a shadow. Charles Carter slowly looked up to see four or five tall, fierce-looking armored guards, staring in astonishment at him with his handsaw.

“Wow… you guys are really tall. Can I borrow that sword at your waist for a look? Hey? What are you trying to do? I’m the Seventh Prince! My father is Han…”

George Carter looked coldly at Charles Carter, who was shivering in the cold wind. Behind him stood more than twenty fully armed guards, and the tools of the crime were placed to the side.

“So it’s an inside job…”

George Carter cared a lot about his reputation—or rather, after ascending the throne, he cared about it even more. If Charles Carter had been caught at another time, maybe he wouldn’t have said much. But the problem was, there was someone else standing beside George Carter at this moment. Losing face in front of this person was something George Carter could not tolerate.

“You brat! Why did you dismantle my pavilion?”

“Father… I didn’t know it was your pavilion… I saw that no one usually comes here…”

“So if it’s not mine, you can just take it apart?”

George Carter said angrily, slowly picking up a shoe from the ground. Charles Carter shrank his neck, his eyes darting around, but all he saw were guards with cold faces—there was no way to escape.

“No, Father… listen to me.”

“I went to the Tianlu Pavilion to study. The teacher said that as children, we should be filial to our mothers, and as princes, we should work for the benefit of the world. Do you think the teacher is right?”

“The teacher told you to dismantle my pavilion?”

“No, I just wanted to do something. I saw that Mother worked so hard with that spinning wheel, so I wanted to make a more convenient one. But I didn’t have any wood, so I could only take it from these buildings…” Charles Carter spoke quickly, seeing George Carter’s hand holding the shoe rise higher and higher, so his words came out faster and faster.

“Besides, if there really was a machine that could increase weaving efficiency, women could support their families with it, the mulberry growers would benefit greatly, the state treasury would also increase its income, and most importantly… everyone in the world could afford clothes, and this cold winter wouldn’t be so hard to endure.”

George Carter was suddenly stunned. He looked at Charles Carter with some suspicion—did this rascal really say that?

“Your Majesty, if His Highness truly has such intentions, then what does it matter if the entire pavilion is dismantled? Building a pavilion is easy, but teaching a prince is hard.”

The middle-aged man spoke coldly, but it was also giving George Carter a way out.

George Carter nodded, then put his shoes back on.

Charles Carter let out a breath of relief.

Thanks to Fourth Brother, and thanks to this unfamiliar uncle.

“This gentleman is clearly a cultured man. Thank you, thank you.”

George Carter’s face darkened, but he didn’t get angry again.

“May I ask your name, sir?”

“Robert Harris.”

“Holy—”

Charles Carter’s eyes widened, and he hurried over to Robert Harris, looking him up and down with burning eyes. “Are you really Robert Harris?”

Robert Harris didn’t know why this little brat in front of him had such an expression, but he nodded calmly.

George Carter sneered and said, “You ignorant brat, you even know Robert Harris?”

“The God of War… who doesn’t know!”