At this moment, inside the towering Lulong Tower, in a clean, sunlit room reserved for officers, more than a dozen large chests were stacked up. A tall young man, about eighteen or nineteen years old—barely considered a youth—was sitting alone, upright, at a desk by the door, staring blankly out the window, lost in thought.

“Three Kingdoms, huh?” No one knew how much time had passed before the young man named Edward Benson finally let out a slightly helpless sigh in his heart. “Will this world really descend into chaos in just over ten years? The great Han Empire… Anyway, it’s truly unbelievable.”

To be honest, several years ago, during a plague that swept through half of Youzhou, his mother—who had been terrified by a bout of cold and cough—finally couldn’t hold it in and told him she was a transmigrator. She said the Han dynasty would soon fall, heroes would rise, and the chaotic era of the Three Kingdoms was about to begin, and so on and so forth…

Then came talk of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the battles of Guandu and Chibi, the “Four Doodoos” of Eastern Wu, the Five Tiger Generals, the Five Elite Generals, and stories about “Wife Guy” Cao Cao and the Qiao sisters, rambling on and on for two whole months.

She even said that his cousin William Benson would, in his thirties, become one of the most prominent warlords in the land, a major figure in the early Three Kingdoms period. As for himself, a posthumous child, of course… uh, of course he believed every word without a doubt.

It was simple logic—for a boy who lost his father at a young age, if he couldn’t trust his own mother, who could he trust?

In fact, although Edward Benson’s mother could be a bit flighty at times, thinking back, she was indeed very competent and impressive.

Though she was just a widow raising a child, and at first was shunned by the elders of the clan for supposedly “bringing bad luck” to her husband, she managed to withstand the pressure and single-handedly started a business, amassing a considerable fortune for the family. Not only that, after making money, she generously helped out clan members, did good deeds, and even sponsored many relatives to pursue official careers… By now, she was already a highly respected elder in the clan, known as Mary Benson.

Moreover, she was literate and educated, personally teaching Edward Benson to read and write from a young age, to understand the classics and numerology, and even encouraged him to learn horseback riding, archery, and martial arts.

So, when such a mother spoke words that were almost like a last will during an epidemic, how could Edward Benson not believe her?

But later, on one hand, Edward Benson’s mother, known as Mary Benson, actually survived the deadly plague and remained lively as ever. On the other hand, as Edward Benson grew up, he first used his late father’s connections to go to Yangle City, the seat of Liaoxi Commandery, where he worked as a minor official for two years, gaining experience in the bureaucracy. Then, leveraging his family’s influence, his mother’s wealth, and his own skills in mathematics, he gradually rose through the ranks. Now, at just eighteen or nineteen, he had already become the Deputy Scribe of the Accounting Office (essentially the deputy head in charge of statistics) with a salary of two hundred shi…

With such a promising future, Edward Benson couldn’t help but start to doubt and avoid his mother’s claims… Maybe it was, as his mother often said, “teenage rebellion.”

However, just a few months ago, all of Edward Benson’s doubts and avoidance suddenly vanished! Because he had truly witnessed a miracle.

That miracle was none other than his cousin William Benson. The one with a poor background, who often needed help from their family, who was handsome and loud-voiced but also quite hot-tempered… uh, that “Three Kingdoms Youzhou warlord” (his mother’s words).

Half a year ago, for the sake of his future, William Benson finally, albeit reluctantly, went to the commandery and, like himself, became a minor official… In those days, when the commandery governor recruited officials, he would always choose from the local great clans, and the Gongsun family was the largest in Liaoxi. Basically, the city of Lingzhi among the five cities of Liaoxi was practically run by the Gongsun clan. So, once the sons of the Gongsun family came of age, the door to officialdom was always open to them, though their starting positions varied depending on their family status.

As for his cousin William Benson, Henry Benson, his starting point was exactly the same as Edward Benson’s two years ago—just a lowly minor official, the kind who stood at the door relaying messages. In other words, he was worlds apart from Edward Benson’s current position as Deputy Scribe of the Accounting Office!

Yet, simply because he was handsome and had a loud voice, this cousin—who had previously lived in their family’s shop and slept in the room opposite his—was suddenly noticed by the newly arrived Marquis Governor of the commandery and was taken as a son-in-law!

Why?!

He himself had worked as an official in this commandery for two years, held a higher position, was even younger, and was just as tall and handsome, wasn’t he? In his own mother’s words: “long-armed and slim-waisted, dignified and imposing, destined to be a famous general!” Why wasn’t he chosen?

And speaking of family background, he was also a Benson, wasn’t he? In fact, his family was many times wealthier than William Benson’s. If the governor really wanted to marry off his daughter, he could easily offer a fortune as a bride price!

A real fortune—tens of thousands in family assets, no exaggeration, no boasting!