"That's wonderful!" Ethan Bolton immediately sat up. "Miss, could you give me some guidance? Who are the famous people with the surname Zhang in the capital?"

The sincere look in Ethan Bolton's eyes naturally moved Emily Brooks. She beamed and raised her eyebrows. "You asked the right person!"

Emily Brooks completely forgot that she had detained Ethan Bolton just to have a few more words alone with him, hoping to get some inside information about the so-called engagement. Instead, she earnestly organized her thoughts, considering how to explain things clearly to Ethan Bolton.

"In the officialdom of the capital, the most famous is Duke of Chu, David Bolton, who is as renowned as my father. His second brother, Earl of Xiangyang, Alice Bolton, and third brother, Marquis of Wuling, Grace Bolton, are also generals with outstanding military achievements. Like my father, they are all meritorious officials who made their names following Emperor Ruizong. Duke of Chu is almost seventy, and he's still stationed at Xuanfu this time, while Marquis of Wuling is on rotation as an imperial guard. However, my father and Duke of Chu don't get along very well."

Mentioning her father, who had recently suffered a crushing defeat and was being impeached by many, a trace of gloom appeared on Emily Brooks's beautiful face. "Father and he never interact. But actually, I've run into Duke of Chu by chance before. He's actually very kind, but I don't know why he can't get along with my father."

The listener was attentive, but the speaker was unintentional. Ethan Bolton couldn't help but boldly imagine a possibility. Could it be that the so-called enmity is fake? Maybe the two are actually very close, but on the surface, they act like strangers, and the henpecked Duke of Chu even entrusted his concubine's son to someone else?

Emily Brooks had no idea that the seemingly focused Ethan Bolton was actually lost in his own speculations, and she continued.

"Next is Duke of Qin, James Bolton. His father, Olivia Bolton, was a strategist for Emperor Ruizong back in the day, said to be wise and decisive. He was always present in the emperor's command tent. He's the second generation, not particularly skilled in warfare, and only average in strategy, but he's more interested in compiling books than holding office. In fact, he compiled the Annals of Ruizong."

As Ethan Bolton listened, his mind continued to wander. Hmm, strategists often worry about being discarded after their usefulness, maybe he had several backup plans?

"Then there are the brothers, Marquis of Huaiking, Brian Bolton, and Marquis of Nanyang, Matthew Bolton. My father and the Dukes of Chu and Qin already held military positions like commander early on, but these two only rose from common soldiers after Emperor Ruizong ascended the throne. They fought the northern invaders, quelled the southern barbarian rebellion, and fought off pirates, eventually being ennobled. But one is greedy, the other is lecherous. My father was once their superior, and every time he mentions them, he laments their wasted potential!"

"Once, my father scolded them, 'Do you know those censors are like flies? The moment there's a whiff of rotten meat, they'll swarm all over it. Let alone you two pieces of rotten meat! Emperor Ruizong is gone now, do you think it's still the old days? If you want women, go to the brothel; if you want money, buy a ship and go to sea yourself. If you keep this up, I'll castrate you, Big Bolton, and beat you to death, Second Bolton!'"

As she spoke, Emily Brooks, in order to vividly portray how her father, Duke of Zhao, treated these brothers, actually imitated her father's tone and repeated word for word what she had overheard back then.

However, given her age, she couldn't really act like her father, let alone openly say the word "castrate." Ethan Bolton was already holding back laughter so hard his stomach hurt, but to maintain his image and let Emily Brooks continue, he had to endure with great effort.

"To achieve great merit and still remain self-reflective—Duke of Zhao is truly wise!"

Ethan Bolton barely managed to suppress his urge to burst out laughing and offered Duke of Zhao a high compliment. But seeing Emily Brooks suddenly lost in thought, and considering his own current status as someone far from the center of power, he couldn't help but guess at something.

Seeing how Emily Brooks's expression changed every time she mentioned Duke of Zhao, could it be that her father is in trouble now?

This time, he actually forgot to wonder whether the Zhang brothers had anything to do with his own background.

But soon, Emily Brooks recovered, perked up, and continued listing the famous Zhangs in the court.

"There's also Earl of Dingtao, William Bolton. During the early years of Emperor Ruizong's reign, he was sent as an envoy to Mongolia and was detained, but later, taking advantage of Emperor Ruizong's great victory, he managed to escape and brought back many captured civilians. To promote such heroic deeds, Emperor Ruizong made him an earl."

"Earl of Linfen, Sophia Bolton, managed the Yellow River's waterworks and oversaw water conservancy projects all over the country. Plus, he had a bit of military merit at first, so Emperor Ruizong was generous enough to grant him an earldom, which caused quite a stir in the court at the time."

"Earl of Weinan, John Bolton, his name was actually bestowed by Emperor Ruizong. He was originally a surrendered barbarian, and no one remembers his original name. He was brave in battle, always led from the front, and was wounded several times saving Emperor Ruizong..."

"And then there's Commander Samuel Bolton..."

"There are also quite a few civil officials surnamed Zhang. First, Grand Secretary Lucas Bolton is one, and recently a new Hanlin academician surnamed Zhang was promoted, but I can't recall his name at the moment. Hmm, among the six ministries, the Minister of Revenue..."

Even with Ethan Bolton's excellent memory, as he realized the list was getting longer and even included some familiar names, he couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle.

He had no problem remembering these names and official positions, but the issue was, with so many people surnamed Zhang, how could he ever figure out his true origins? Indeed, there are just too many Zhangs in the world!

It wasn't until she finally finished that Emily Brooks realized she had, without noticing, introduced every Zhang she knew in the court to Ethan Bolton. Coming back to her senses, she couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed—she had wanted to find out more about him, so how did it end up with her doing all the talking?