Henry Blake ignored the looks from the others and continued to gently explain the course of events, so that Mary Collins, being a woman, wouldn’t be frightened.

Grace Collins had been watching from start to finish, so she naturally wasn’t startled. She looked like a demure young wife, and after Henry Blake finished speaking, she bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes full of admiration:

“Amazing, having a man at home really is different~”

The stunning beauty revealed a look of admiration for strength, which was quite lethal.

Henry Blake considered himself indifferent to fame and fortune, but under San-niang’s adoring gaze, he still felt a bit lightheaded. With a very manly wave of his hand, he said:

“It was nothing, just a small effort.”

“Just now, I discussed with your aunt and decided to make you the young master of the Pei family, with a monthly salary of a hundred taels of silver. You don’t mind if it’s too little, do you?”

Young master—roughly equivalent to vice chairman of the Pei Group, with enough authority to open the silver vault; a monthly salary of a hundred taels of silver, which converts to about a hundred thousand per month.

This treatment was a bit extravagant. If Henry Blake accepted, he’d definitely feel guilty, so he shook his head and said:

“San-niang said a man should earn his own living, and now you’re giving me this treatment. The shopkeepers on the street surely won’t be convinced. Just pay me the salary of an escort chief.”

William Brooks heard this and quickly shook his head: “Young master Ye, you’re being too polite. Today you settled George Bennett, and the money saved is much more than this. Besides, an escort chief only gets twelve taels a month—what could you do with that? When young master Pei goes out for a drink, it costs more than that…”

Grace Collins also nodded: “That’s right. Being the young master isn’t all that glamorous; there are plenty of social occasions. If you go drinking and listening to music with the officials’ sons at Wende Bridge, and you can’t even tip the girls, wouldn’t that embarrass the Pei family? Just treat this money as pocket change. If you feel bad, just do your best for the family.”

Seeing this, Henry Blake no longer refused:

“Then I’ll follow San-niang’s arrangements. Now that the Qinglian Manor matter is settled, is there anything else at home you need me to handle?”

Grace Collins had quite a few issues—her eldest brother died in the jianghu, the title of ‘Spear King’ was taken, and that grudge hadn’t been avenged; many jianghu factions were fighting for business, and no one was stepping up to resolve it; several hall masters of the Red Flower Pavilion were restless, constantly pressuring her to step down.

But these were all jianghu matters, and it was too soon for Henry Blake to get involved, so she smiled and said:

“There are plenty of shopkeepers under me; I can’t handle everything myself. It’s raining today, and there aren’t any social events. You should rest for now—let William Brooks show you around the capital.”

As she spoke, Grace Collins moved a little closer and quietly slipped a silver note into Henry Blake’s chest:

“They’re all your men now. Take them out for a meal and a drink from time to time—that’s part of your job as young master.”

William Brooks perked up at these words and quickly took the horse back to the stable.

When Birdie heard about going out to eat, it suddenly felt that Grace Collins’s embrace was no longer comfortable, so it hopped onto Henry Blake’s shoulder and flapped its wings at Grace Collins: “Jijiji~” Probably saying—bye-bye, big-breasted sister…

Henry Blake went inside to change back into his regular clothes before setting out with a few escort guards.

But just as they were about to leave, Grace Collins noticed William Brooks’s sly grin and reminded him:

“William Brooks, don’t take him to any shady places. Jingtang just came from outside and hasn’t seen the capital’s wild side. If you turn him into another Matthew Collins…”

William Brooks’s sly smile vanished, and he put on a serious face:

“Boss, do I, Old Chen, look like that kind of person?”

“Don’t worry, San-niang, I know my limits.”

After Henry Blake replied, he led his men out of the alley.

-----

Half an hour later, on the second floor of Chunxiang Pavilion.

A musician holding a pipa was singing a gentle tune on stage.

Three colorfully dressed dancers began to dance with the music, their movements graceful.

Seven or eight robust escort guards stared wide-eyed out the window at the girls downstairs, swallowing hard, not even willing to pick up a bite of food.

Henry Blake sat in a private room, raising his glass in toasts. Birdie was beside him, bobbing its head, looking like it had drunk even more than Henry Blake.

William Brooks held his wine cup in both hands and toasted Henry Blake:

“Young master, you really do know your limits!”

Henry Blake had been ordered to take his men out for ‘team building’, so of course he couldn’t be stingy:

“We’re just here to listen to some music, not visiting a brothel. Honestly, the girls at the border are much rougher than those in the capital—most of them are sturdier than me. If I didn’t know a bit of martial arts, I’d have been snatched up for a wedding at fourteen…”

William Brooks blinked and leaned in:

“Young master, don’t tell me you’re still…”

?

Henry Blake found it hard to answer that question.

The tipsy Charles Bennett next to him chimed in:

“Look at you! With the young master’s looks, if he went out looking for girls, they’d be paying him. Who would do such a losing business?”

“Exactly. In my opinion, the only girls worthy of the young master are the noble ladies from Wende Bridge. If any common floozy tries to get close, I’ll be the first to object…”

“Heh heh…”

Listening to music in the pleasure quarters, eating and drinking.

As they were enjoying themselves, some commotion arose on the street outside.

Thud, thud, thud—

The sound of a large group of soldiers running.

Everyone frowned and went to the window to look, only to see many imperial guards and Black Office constables running through the rain, heading toward the area around Mingyu Tower at the edge of their view.

“What’s going on?”